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I
SABRINA
SABRINA
Being a Chronicle of the
Life of the Goddess
of
AMHERST COLLEGE
Recorded by
WINTHROP H. SMITH,
Guardian of the Class of 1916
HALVOB R. SEWABD and JOHN G. GIBSON, 2ND
of the Class of 1919
Copyright, 1921, by
HALVOR R. SEWARD
JOHN G. GIBSON, 2d
WINTHROP H. SMITH
987K19
TO AMHERST
IN WHOSE LIFE SABRINA HAS PLAYED
SO VITAL AND PICTURESQUE A
PART WE DEDICATE THIS BOOK.
PREFACE
THE mystery, the romance and the un-
confirmed rumors that have surrounded
Sabrina for more than thirty years have
built up a tradition unparalleled in the history of
any other American college. The customs grow-
ing up around the Goddess have been entirely
spontaneous, the rivalry between Odd and Even
classes originated naturally and grew in strength
as the years passed by, until today the tradi-
tion has become so intense and meaningful that
the mere mention of Sabrina is sure to quicken
the pulse of every Amherst man.
Some twelve years ago, Max Shoop, of the
class of nineteen ten, published a History of
Sabrina. Up till then Sabrina had been the
subject of considerable speculation; stories of
her numerous travels and startling appearances
had been handed down by word of mouth, and
exaggeration, purposeful and imaginative, wove
a shroud of mystery about "our fostering divin-
ity. " There were those who even doubted the
existence of the statue. Shoop succeeded in
gathering up the odds and ends of the story and
presented them in a very pleasing and construc-
tive way.
Since the publication of that work much has
taken place. Indeed, the most momentous hap-
vi PREFACE
pening in the recent life of Sabrina has occurred,
for she is now in the hands of the Odd Classes,
after twenty-nine years uninterrupted tenure by
Even Classmen.
The same doubts and mystery now prevail as
did before Snoop's book was written, and as
there have been many requests from alumni and
undergraduates for an account of the last ten
years' experiences, we have made an attempt
here to fill this need. In doing so, we have tried
to take a large view of Sabrina, and have treated
the tradition as an integral part of the Spirit of
Amherstj not as an affair of Odd or Even Classes
only. We have tried to present an impartial
account, giving credit where credit is due.
Believing that the inclusion of a complete
history would best serve the interest of the reader,
we have traced the adventures of Sabrina from
the time when she first adorned the campus to
the last Sabrina banquet.
The accounts herein contained are based upon
the experiences of the Sabrina guardians since
nineteen twelve, and of our contemporaries, as
related to us. Acknowledgment is here made
to Sydney D. Chamberlain, Walter McGay and
RosweU P. Young, '14, John Atwater, '15, Philip
H. See and Jacob P. Estey, '18, David S. Soli-
day and Morris Bowman, '19, Kenneth B. Low
and Paul C. Phillips, '21, and Rowell S. Schlei-
cher, '21, for their interest and co-operation.
EARLY DAYS ,. ; :;:v^K:
SABRINA was given to Amherst College by
Governor Joel Hayden of Massachusetts in
the year 1857. The statue, which originally
occupied a place of honor upon the terrace be-
tween Old North College and the Octagon, was
patterned after the statue of a nymph which is
still at Shrewsbury, England. It rested upon a
circular sandstone base on the front of which was
an inscription.
"Presented by Joel Hayden
of Haydenville."
Sabrina remained here for several years and
enjoyed comparative peace and quiet. The
first prank which was played upon her occurred
a few years after her presentation to the college
when a youth arrayed the Goddess in divers gar-
ments stolen from a nearby girls school. Need-
less to say, the student was dealt with by the
faculty, and to this day Sabrina's fair cheek
bears the marks of the student's ill-timed
vengeance.
From this time on Sabrina was the butt of the
undergraduate body. She was whitewashed,
indecorously decorated, and often anticipated her
future career by frequent changes of color.
2 SABRINA
;: ; *The '.first .abduction of which record can be
f6tind*was : c'bfn*mtted by the class of '77. After
jaf^b^V^jourh away from the campus she ap-
peared again in her familiar place. As yet no
feeling of class proprietorship had grown up
around the statue, but many were the humilia-
tions Sabrina suffered at the hands of various
jovial blades. She was first used as a distinctly
class affair when '80 placed her on top of the
Octagon holding a rag baby labeled "'81."
Later on she appeared at the Class Supper of '82
where she occupied the seat of honor, but her
exalted position was soon reversed, for the spite-
ful class of '83 immersed her deep in the college
well. Thereafter the same jest was repeated,
usually after a college victory. By this time,
the faculty having become vitally weary of the
students' rude treatment of the gift to the college
of such a distinguished man, decided to put an
end to the affair. Then, too, her appearance
was becoming increasingly unattractive. Ac-
cordingly, the college janitor was given the task
of removing and doing away with the statue.
This faithful servant of the college could not
withstand the mute appeal of the Goddess for
mercy, and accordingly hid her away from the
prying eyes of the students in his barn. Here it
remained for two years, as the "tradition of the
hidden Goddess" took root.
EARLY DAYS 3
As new men came to college, they heard the
story of the Goddess and two men, Duffey and
Ingalls, of the class of '90, hit upon the idea of
resurrecting Sabrina. They traced the history
of the statue with great care, and in obedience to
rumor that the college janitor still had her in his
possession, they started out on Sunday night
June 19, 1887 accompanied by Durgin, Child and
Raymond of the same class to find her. After
a prolonged search of the janitor's premises, the
statue was found in the barn, and they took the
Goddess to Guernsey's, where they were living,
and hid her away in the cellar. Ninety at this
time planned to reintroduce Sabrina to the col-
lege with an appropriate celebration, but this
plan had been discovered by its rival class '89.
The result of the attempt to hold the celebra-
tion was a terrific struggle in Chapel Tower.
Sabrina did not appear as the surprise that '90
had planned; she was more securely hidden in
the attic of Guernsey's house.
The class of '90 now decided to have the
Goddess appear at their Class Banquet, and
plans were laid accordingly. Wells, '91, over-
heard the Sophomores plotting, and immediately
communicated his information to some of his
friends, and they planned to frustrate '90's de-
signs. The Even Class had already departed
for its supper, leaving but four men to guard the
4 SABRINA
guest of honor. Wells summoned ten men to
his room, among whom were Morris, Hamilton,
Crosier, Knight, Ludington, Hammond, Wood-
ruff and Crocker. These men stealthily followed
the team bearing the statue as it moved slowly
up towards Chapel from Guernsey's. Seizing
an advantageous moment, the men of '91 sprang
upon the equipage, and Sabrina came for the
first time into the possession of an Odd Class.
She was promptly spirited away and rumor has
it that she spent that summer deep beneath the
placid waters of the broad Connecticut. The
following poem from the '91 Olio aptly describes
the foregoing incident:
The summer term was closing fast,
When through old Amherst village passed
The Class of Ninety, on the road
To the depot with their precious load,
Sabrina.
For now, indeed, 'twas their intent
To add to joy and merriment
By taking, their festive board to grace,
The maiden with the pretty face,
Sabrina.
This fact has oft come to our ken,
The best laid plans of mice and men
Do fail. And this was just the case
With Ninety and that form of grace,
Sabrina.
EARLY DAYS
For to the Class of Ninety-One
The knowledge of their plan had come,
And each man solemnly declared
"This toast to-night shall not be heard,
Sabrina."
So when Old Guernsey, in his cart,
For the New London Northern made a start
With that fair Goddess snug within,
At once the Freshman howled like sin,
" Sabrina."
"Deter me not," the old man said,
In mortal terror for his head,
"The power of Ninety is great and wide,"
But loud a clarion voice replied,
"Sabrina."
And e'en before the dear old man
Had really grasped their wicked plan,
He heard mid sounds of trampling feet
A voice which cried far up the street,
"Sabrina."
They drove the maid o'er hill and dale
Until they reached a gloomy vale,
And then without a hymn or prayer,
In silence grim, they buried there,
Sabrina.
The Sophomores they cussed and swore
Of oaths some ninety gross or more;
But to their supper had to go
Without the girl they'd longed for so,
Sabrina.
6 SABRINA
And if to-day you wish to cloy
Some dainty little Ninety boy,
It always works for reasons clear,
To whisper softly in his ear,
"Sabrina!"
The first Odd Class Sabrina Banquet was an
auspicious occasion. The Supper was held at
Watch Hill, R. I., and Sabrina was greeted with
tumultuous applause. The class, having char-
tered a tug, sailed around the Sound, following
the Yale-Harvard boat race on a little ship bear-
ing Sabrina aloft upon her bow. This caused
quite a sensation at the regatta, and many ques-
tions were asked concerning her.
That evening H. C. Crocker, then guardian,
took her by train to Westerly, R. I. and then to
Watch Hill by wagon. Sabrina, according to
'91 men, was reported to have liked the company
of its protecting class much better than that of
the class of '90. In the two succeeding years the
Even Classes, then in college, availed nothing in
their attempts to capture the Goddess.
In the Fall of 1889 she was formally handed
down to the class of '93, at that time in its
Freshman year. This was the beginning of the
tradition that Sabrina should be regarded as
the subject of legitimate warfare between Odd
and Even classes, and that she should descend
by right of heritage to the succeeding class. All
EARLY DAYS 7
this winter she was kept in the barn at the home
of Wells, '91, at Hatfield. This class brought
Sabrina to its freshman banquet which was held
at Springfield, and at this time and during the
rest of that year she was under the guardianship
of Schauffler who kept her under a haymow in a
barn at Claremont, New Hampshire.
Ninety-three planned to have its Sophomore
Banquet in Boston in June 1891. The Goddess
had been moved to a warehouse in Springfield and
a committee was intrusted to bring the statue to
the dinner. James Breed was selected to take
Sabrina to Boston, and E. R. Houghton to see
her safely back to Springfield. Breed, after crat-
ing the statue, saw it safely to Boston where it
appeared at the banquet in Tremont House, and
was greeted with the caresses which have become
since a time-honored custom. '93's account, of
its banquet appeared in the Olio. She was
called "Our Fostering Divinity Sabrina," and
from this time on she has been held the Goddess
of many a class.
Houghton re-shipped the statue by American
Express to Springfield and went to Amherst
planning to conceal it safely the next day, but
on his arrival in Springfield he found no Sabrina
waiting for him. The reason for Houghton's
disappointment laid in the activity of the class
of '94. When these Even Classmen got wind
8 SABRINA
of the Boston banquet they sent one of their
members, Ben Hyde, "to get" Sabrina. Hyde,
once in Boston, speedily traced the box in which
she had been shipped to the express office and
there discovered that she had been sent to Spring-
field in the name of E. R. Houghton that morn-
ing. He promptly went to Springfield, entered
the office of the American Express Company,
and asked if a packing case addressed to E. R.
Houghton had been received. The clerk answer-
ing in the affirmative, he then asked him if he
had not received a notification to reship the box
immediately to Boston. Hyde was so insistent
and his manner was so serious that the clerk was
brought completely to his knees. With his as-
sistance the statue was loaded on to an east
bound train in the nick of time. Hyde signed
the receipt for the box in his own name, and this
stroke of daring, be it said to his credit, was not
discovered by the worried clerk.
On his way to Boston with the statue Hyde
decided upon his future plans. He telegraphed
an old servant to meet him at the train, and to
notify no one of what was going on. When the
train pulled in, the box was placed in a wagon,
and Hyde and his servant drove off with it.
By this time the news had spread abroad and
for several days Hyde kept up an exciting game
of "Hyde and Seek." The old servant who was
EARLY DAYS 9
very familiar with Boston, proved of great serv-
ice in concealing the statue by day, and then
moving it to new and unknown places by night.
Sabrina is stated to have reposed at this time in
many parts of Boston, Cambridge, and along
the water front and in the South End. While
this game was being played, Hyde had returned
to Amherst, where he was confronted with ar-
rest on the charge of forgery by the American
Express Company. He lost no time in getting
to New York, and with a promptitude which
was characteristic of his splendid daring and
quick judgment throughout this entire escapade,
took a steamer for Europe, and remained abroad
for a few months while the disturbance he had
kicked up died down.
The class of '93, justly angered at having lost
their Goddess, made every effort to apprehend
Hyde, but Hyde Senior, looking further into the
matter, discovered that the class of '93 had no
legal title to Sabrina; that it had been stolen
from Amherst College by a previous class, and
accordingly he interviewed the officials of the
Express Company and explained that the entire
affair was a huge college joke. Together, they
agreed that the matter should be dropped unless
the college should request that they take action.
Hyde now returned and was welcomed by the
men of his class as the hero of the hour.
10 SABRINA
Ninety-four at once took action to celebrate
their new possession of the Goddess in a fitting
way. Plans were laid for a banquet to be held
at Brattleboro, Vermont, this spot being chosen
because it reduced the possibilities of pursuit to
the minimum.
A special train was chartered on the New
London and Northern R. R., now the Central
Vermont, and was held in waiting back of the
hat factory. The entire class reached it in
good order, and as the train slowly moved away
the strains of a song since become well known
upon the campus were heard for the first time.
The song was written especially for the occasion
by Ned Burnham, and is as follows;
"All hail! Sabrina dear,
The Widow of each passing year;
Long may she live and be
The Widow of posterity."
In the meantime Sabrina had been brought
from Boston to Brattleboro and here Stone,
president of '94, and Ben Hyde took her to the
rear entrance of the Brooks House where the
class arrived about ten o'clock. The statue was
unboxed and presented to the class amidst the
usual applause. After '94 had given vent to all
its righteous enthusiasm for their recently
reclaimed divinity, she was loaded into a wagon
and Stone, accompanied by Hyde, Howe, and
EARLY DAYS 11
Smith drove her to the hiding place which had
been agreed upon beforehand, Hermon C. Har-
vey, a resident of Chesterfield, N. H., allowing
Sabrina to be safely tucked away under the
floor of his barn.
The men returned to Brattleboro and accom-
panied the class to Amherst where they arrived
early the next morning. The rumors of Odd
Class detective work were rife in college during
the following year, and this culminated in the
attempt of '93 to bluff Hyde and Stone into
betraying the hiding place of the statue. Hyde
was informed by a stranger that the location of
the Goddess was known. The Odd Class hoped
in this way to induce Stone to re-visit the place
of concealment and then to quietly track him
there. Hyde, however, proved too astute to be
deceived by this trick. Later on in the year,
however, Stone shipped the statue to Hyde in
Boston, where it was kept until Sabrina was
turned over to the class of '96 at their Sophomore
Banquet.
Ninety-six had its first glimpse of Sabrina in the
fall of its Freshman year, 1892, at its Class Sup-
per which was held in the Mansion House in
Greenfield. To hold a Sabrina Banquet so near
to Amherst was considered a daring innovation,
but arrangements had been carefully worked out
beforehand: a special train had been chartered,
12 SABRINA
and all was made ready. As the class was about
to board the train they discovered to their con-
sternation that large numbers of '95 and '93 were
already inside. No one, save the guardians knew
where the supper was to be. A rumor was
quietly spread about by the Even Classes that
the banquet was to be held at Brattleboro, and
when the train arrived at Millers Falls '96 was
called out on the platform, where they politely
offered to fight the classes of '95 and '93. This
offer being refused in equally polite terms, various
enterprising Even Classmen shut the doors of
the coaches, and the train was ordered out of the
station. Thus, the Odd Classmen were com-
pletely outwitted, but this happening so alarmed
the guardians that it was deemed advisable not
to bring Sabrina to Greenfield. The banquet,
nevertheless, was held and proved more success-
ful than recent banquets.
Ninety-six was to see its Goddess, however, and
this event took place when they held their Sopho-
more banquet at Nassau, N. H. A special train
transported the class to Nassau. All this time
Sabrina had been concealed in a sausage factory
in Boston, from where she was shipped in care of
Stone. At the banquet she was formally turned
over to '96, Charles Staples being appointed
guardian. Accounts of this banquet describe
the old custom of carrying the Goddess into the
EARLY DAYS 13
banquet hall on the shoulders of the football men
of the class. She was enthusiastically received,
and as usual, occupied her position of honor at the
table.
The box in which Sabrina had reached Nassau
was re-shipped by Staples and this case, in the
course of time, fell into the hands of the Odd
Classmen. The box was opened and to their
great disgust they beheld not the familiar, much
coveted Goddess, but a heap of paltry scrap iron.
This happening rather dampened the ardor of
'95, and we can well imagine the amusement that
it caused the members of the class of '96.
Staples had in the meantime secreted the God-
dess in a cistern in the attic of a house in Bran-
don, Vermont. Later on in the year this same
guardian, while attending a dance at Smith Col-
lege, overheard a certain fair Sophomore telling
some '95 men that she knew where Sabrina was.
His consternation increased as he heard the
young lady describe the location of the Goddess
exactly, not only saying that it was in Brandon,
Vermont, but giving the actual details of its con-
cealment in a cistern. The '95 men appeared to
be greatly interested, but postponed search, for
the more present pleasures of the occasion.
Staples, without stopping to change his evening
clothes, went directly to Brandon and promptly
shipped Sabrina to Elba, N. Y. under the guise
14 SABRINA
of " special machinery." Here she was kept
until turned over to the class of '98.
This incident illustrates the extent to which
Sabrina's fame had been noised abroad. As
later developments revealed, Staple's roommate
was discovered to have intimated to a girl in
Boston that he was connected with Sabrina do-
ings, and on that account had at one time gone
to Vermont. The remainder of the story is a
product of the imagination of the young lady,
and is an interesting sidelight upon the doings of
Dame Gossip. After the tale was communicated
to the girl's mother, it gradually found its way
back to Smith College, where Staples heard it,
with the alarming results recorded above.
Ninety-eight held its Freshman Banquet at
Hartford but due to the pressing activity of '97,
Sabrina did not grace the affair. Samuel B. Fur-
bish was selected as guardian, and under his gen-
eralship Sabrina was brought to the Sophomore
Banquet of the class, held at the Putnam House in
Bennington, Vermont. Furbish journeyed to
Rotterdam Junction, New York, where he re-
ceived the statue, which he immediately shipped
to Bennington.
This banquet was a brilliant affair. Sabrina
appeared upon the shoulders of the football
heroes, and was placed upon a large divan near
the head table. She was greeted in prescribed
EARLY DAYS , 15
form, and then quickly disappeared. After the
class had returned to Amherst, Furbish re-packed
the statue and started out on a tedious journey
by wagon for the New York boundary line.
Arriving at Cambridge, N.Y., the box was shipped
to Albany, where it was concealed in a ware-
house. Here it remained until the Fall of 1897
when it was turned over by Furbish to E. E.
Green, the new guardian of the class of 1900.
Sabrina appeared to the class of 1900 on Mon-
day evening November 1, 1897, in the Hotel
Mohican in New London where their banquet
was held. Careful arrangements had been made
beforehand. The Goddess was taken from Al-
bany to New Haven where Green discovered
that the last train for New London had gone.
This was on the day of the banquet. But upon
putting up a good story about the urgent neces-
sity of getting his " machine" to New London
that night, arrival was effected. The statue
was taken to the hotel, and as the class sat about
the board, Sabrina was ushered in by four men.
After she had been greeted and given the cus-
tomary ovation, she was again whisked away
and started on her travels.
Green set out in a wagon on a forty mile jour-
ney across state in the face of a howling storm.
After several hours of the most hectic adventur-
ing the wagon broke down. Temporary repairs
16 SABRINA
were made and the journey continued to where
a new team was kept in waiting. Here it was
found necessary to wait for further repairs and it
was not until early morning that they resumed
their flight. Arriving at the railroad station, the
statue was shipped to Albany where it remained
until it was given into the custody of the class of
1902.
Members of the class of '99, although having
no advance information of the banquet in New
London, arrived there the morning afterwards.
They attempted by all possible means to trace
Sabrina after she left the hotel, and although
large sums of money were offered, no authentic
information was uncovered. It was rumored
that Sabrina was removed and placed beneath
the waters of the lake nearby and that the class
of '99 had taken her from this resting place and
had secreted her themselves after the Even Class-
men had returned to college. This, however,
turned out to be nothing more than an imagina-
tive writing of a reporter for a local newspaper,
and of those '99 men who had made a strenuous
but unsuccessful attempt to recover the statue
for the Odd Classes.
The banquet of the class of 1902 was similar
in many ways to preceding affairs. The God-
dess had been turned over to Robert Cleeland by
Green, and after an arm of the statue which had
EARLY DAYS 17
been broken on the adventurous trip related
above had been repaired, Sabrina was shipped to
Springfield and stored in the factory of Kibbe
Brothers, the trip being accomplished without
difficulty. The original plan, to hold the ban-
quet at the Hotel Wellington, North Adams, was
discovered by Odd Classmen, necessitating a
change, and as a result the supper was held at
the Hotel Worthy in Springfield. Again it was
thought risky to bring the statue so near to
Amherst, but the banquet was held without any
untoward event. After her appearance Sabrina
was again hidden away in the Kibbe factory.
Odd Class activity was strong during this
period in the college. 1904 had great difficulty
in selecting a guardian upon whom suspicion did
not attach, but Joseph B. Eastman was finally
selected. Making an ingenious excuse that his
uncle had died and that he was on his way to
attend the funeral, Eastman went to Springfield
on May 4, 1902. The next day he and Cleeland
took Sabrina from the factory and shipped her to
New London. The box was taken to the second
story of the Massasoit House where she awaited
the arrival of the Class of 1894. When all had
taken their places Sabrina was ushered into the
room, greeted with great enthusiasm, and the
usual mystic rites having been performed, the
Goddess disappeared. Eastman shipped her by
18 SABRINA
the Norwich line to New York City where she
was hidden in a store-house on West Street.
Ralph W. Wheeler was chosen the guardian
of 1906. This class held their banquet at the
Murray Hill Hotel, New York on May 9, 1904,
and two days before, Wheeler removed the
statue to the hotel. The class arrived next
day and the Goddess made her appearance.
This banquet was unusual in that it was held at
high noon. Afterwards the statue was hidden
in the second story of a machine shop in Man-
hattan.
Breaking all tradition the same city was again
chosen as the place in which to hold the next
Sabrina Banquet, that of the class of 1908.
Fayette F. Read, the new guardian, after the
usual banqueting ceremonies had taken place at
the Hotel Astor on March 19th, 1906, took the
Goddess to a Fifth Avenue warehouse where she
was left for a week, after which he removed her
to Holyoke. From there she was taken up the
river and hidden in a log cabin near the bank.
NINETEEN TEN
WHEN the class of 1910 came into the
possession of Sabrina they decided to
stimulate a wider interest in the tra-
dition by showing it to the entire college. Plans
were laid to bring it through town during Prom
time, and the particular event chosen was the
Williams baseball game. Max Shoop, then guar-
dian, arranged with Green, 1912, to bring his
machine to college a few days ahead of time, so
that no suspicion might attach to its presence.
Sabrina was at this time in the cottage of Read,
guardian of '08, and on May 24th, Fink, presi-
dent of 1910, Francis, Henry and Shoop of '10,
and Corwin and Green of '12, took the statue from
its hiding place and brought it back to Amherst,
where it was secreted over night in the cellar of
the house of John Henry. The next afternoon
secret instructions were given the entire class of
1910 to assemble at Henry's barn that evening.
They foregathered there and by candle light they
saw Sabrina.
Her presence within the college town was a
complete surprise and was a breach of tradition,
for Sabrina had not been in Amherst for the last
fifteen years. When the class had left their
19
20 SABRINA
Goddess, the six men mentioned above put
Sabrina into Green's car and took her to the
home of Mr. Toole, living near Sunderland, where
she was left over night.
On the next afternoon, which was a Wednes-
day, at two o'clock the undergraduates marched
to Pratt Field to witness the Williams game.
This was the signal for the plotters to steal from
town unobserved. Sabrina was again placed in
the tonneau of Green's car and preparations were
made for defence in the event of attack.
The arrangements at the field were thoroughly
carried out: each gate was watched, the tele-
phone in the dressing room was disconnected,
new locks were kept in readiness to fasten the
gates after Sabrina had left the field, various men
were told to put Odd Class motor cycles and
automobiles which might be used in pursuit out
of business, and all was made ready. Sabrina
was to appear on the field at five minutes past
four. A second machine was to be held in wait-
ing outside the fence to follow Green's car and
block pursuit.
The car bearing Sabrina drove into town at
four o'clock and when the appointed time had
come approached the field. Williams was at bat
in the first half of the fifth inning. The ma-
chine with Sabrina, carefully concealed, entered
the ball grounds and casually took its place
NINETEEN TEN 21
alongside the other cars present, whose occu-
pants had no idea of the event about to take
place. As the inning closed Green started for-
ward and ran his car down second base line as
the Goddess was raised on high. After a mo-
ment's astonished pause, the crowd broke loose,
and the air was filled with conflicting shouts of
Sabrina and non-Sabrina patrons.
The car quickly disappeared and the gates
were shut behind her by men told off for this
duty, and was seen speeding on its way toward
Northhampton, being followed in the rear by
another car, and Bedford and Ladd, '10, on
motor cycles. Arriving at the crossroads in
Hadley, the second car was sent on to "Hamp"
to baffle pursuers, and the motor cycles returned
to Amherst. Sabrina then made her way
quickly down the river road and was hidden in
the cellar of a jewelry store in Holyoke.
A fact which adds excitement to this escapade
was the casual remark of a certain tradesman
who had heard of the gathering in Henry's barn
the night previous, and had actually seen Sa-
brina taken away later. This man dropped the
remark to a student who had happened into the
store that Sabrina was going to be brought to
the game that day. As luck would have it this
man was an Even Classman and at once com-
municated this information to the Sabrina guar-
22 SABRINA
dians, who in turn hastened to impress upon the
tradesman the error of his ways.
Not content with this coup, 1910 planned
fresh adventures. The class of '94 had requested
that Sabrina appear at their reunion banquet
at the coming Commencement. Although this
seemed to be taking enormous chances, Fink
and Shoop decided that it should be done to show
the real respect all true Sabrina men had for the
class of '94.
Notwithstanding the fact that these two men
were constantly under observation they ar-
ranged the plans. On June 28th they left
Springfield with two machines and proceeded to
Holyoke where they removed Sabrina. Here
they were joined by Francis, Seligman, Corwin,
Broughton and Johns, and they proceeded up
the road to Hadley, after leaving the rear of the
jewelry store with Sabrina, Fink remaining this
time in Amherst as a scout.
The '94 banquet was to be held in Hitchcock
Hall and Shoop was to call Fink three times at
different points along the line to see if the coast
was clear, so that they might beat a hasty re-
treat even up to the last moment. If no danger
was foreseen during the last few moments, the
machines were to stop near Hitchcock Hall and
Sabrina was to be taken to the doorway of the
banquet hall and a picture taken of her. The
NINETEEN TEN 23
plans worked out successfully, the various calls
going through in fine shape. The machines
entered Amherst by the Northampton Road,
and while the lights were being lit the last call
was made, and everything was reported quiet.
This was the signal for action.
Driving quickly by Hitchcock Hall, the ma-
chines stopped and Sabrina was taken up to the
door and a flashlight taken during tumultuous
applause. Immediately she was put back in the
car and disappeared down South Pleasant Street
and around by Blake Field and out on to the
"Hamp Road/ 7 They narrowly avoided a trap
in front of Chi Psi which had been planned by
Wheelock, 1911, who was the chief instigator of
all Odd Class opposition at that time, but this
attempt was a minute too late to be of any avail.
Sabrina was taken back to Holyoke where she
was hidden in the jewelry store.
Much credit deserves to be given to the class
of 1910 and to the men in that class chiefly re-
sponsible for Sabrina who had committed the
unprecedented and daring acts of bringing the
Goddess into Amherst where she had not been
for many years, twice during a month. The
first time the Odd Classmen were completely
surprised and offered little if any opposition, but
the second time they were naturally on the alert
for the appearance of the statue, and not with-
24 SABRINA
standing the fact that a great many of the
Alumni, both Odd and Even, were in Amherst
at the time, the 1910 men again brought Sabrina
safely into town. These two daring feats did
much to enliven and vitalize the tradition that
had become attenuated by repetition of nothing
but Sabrina Banquets every two years.
NINETEEN TWELVE
NINETEEN TWELVE held its Sabrina
Banquet in the Hotel Astor on the 4th of
March 1910. She was taken to the hotel
by Cornell, Henry, Seligman and Shoop of the
class of '10, who removed her from her place
of hiding in a down town bank where she had
been taken the day before from Holyoke, and
took her to the roof of the Astor where she
was unpacked and immediately carried into the
banquet hall amidst " All Hails. " After she had
been duly caressed, she was formally turned over
to the class of 1912. The Goddess was taken
away at once, re-packed and again stored in the
bank. The following Monday she was shipped to
a small town on the Maine Coast where she re-
mained for some time.
This banquet was held in spite of a well-planned
attempt of the Odd Classmen to steal the Goddess.
Wheelock knew that she was hidden in the above
mentioned bank and gained entrance to the build-
ing. A prolonged search failed to reveal the much
coveted statue and accordingly a staff of de-
tectives was employed to watch the structure
day and night. It was never known just when
Sabrina was removed from the bank under the
eyes of these professional guardians, but certain
25
26 SABRINA
it is, that she made her appearance at the 1912
banquet in the manner chronicled above.
Sabrina did not long remain in her resting
place on the Maine coast for she was sent by
Harold Whiteman, guardian of the class of 1912,
to Buffalo where she was secreted in the house
of Charles J. Staples, who had been the guardian
of '96.
It was again decided that Sabrina should ap-
pear in Amherst at Commencement time and
that the class that should have the opportunity
of seeing her should be 1900, then holding its
tenth reunion. Staples brought Sabrina with
him from Buffalo and took her to the home of the
Rev. Mr. Whiteman, a brother of the 1912 guar-
dian, who lived in Greenfield, Mass. Here she
remained for a few days before being taken to
Amherst.
On the Monday afternoon of this Commence-
ment there was a ball game with Wesleyan, and
the Odd Classmen again, under the direction of
Wheelock, suspecting that Sabrina might appear
at this time, kept careful watch throughout the
game, but their efforts were of no avail for
Sabrina did not appear. During the day
Wheeler, Bauman, Hubbard, Miller and White-
man '12, and Seligman, Francis and Shoop '10
left town arid proceeded to Greenfield where
they found Sabrina. The men proceeded again
S. D. CHAMBERLAIN
1914 Guardian
NINETEEN TWELVE 27
according to a pre-arranged plan to Amherst,
telephoning at certain stated times to Cornell,
'10, who had remained at Amherst to report any
activity of the Odd Classmen. Repeated phone
calls revealed the fact that everything was quiet
in Amherst so far as Odd Class activity was con-
cerned, and Sabrina sped on her way into town
and arrived in front of the Psi U. house about
eight o'clock. This time, Sabrina was not re-
moved from the car; she was lifted to the view
of the 1900 men who had not seen her since their
banquet thirteen years before, and a flashlight
was taken. It happened that the Kellogg Prize
Speaking Contest was just over and the com-
mon and streets were filled with people. After
remaining but a few minutes before the cheering,
enthusiastic Even Classmen, Sabrina with her
guardians started from town, this time not
towards Hamp, but towards Holyoke over the
Notch. Once safely out of danger of pursuit,
Sabrina was transferred from the hired car in
which she had been taken to Amherst to one
which belonged to Wheeler, '10, and was then
placed in an old barn in Holyoke. The packing
case used for Sabrina 's transportation had mean-
while been shipped from Greenfield to Holyoke
and the next day she was again boxed and carted
to the Holyoke station.
Now began one of the most thrilling adven
28 SABRINA
tures in all Sabrina's checkered career, during
which she was frequently on the point of capture,
and more than once eluded her pursuer only
through a trick of fate.
The intention had been to send Sabrina to the
home of Staples, in Buffalo, immediately, but
owing to a delay on the railroads she did not
leave Holyoke until two days after her appear-
ance at the 1900 banquet. Whiteman and Read
accompanied her to Springfield where she was
again held up, this time waiting for an express
car. Whiteman feared recognition in the Spring-
field station and went at once to Buffalo, leaving
Read to guard the statue. The express authori-
ties had been warned by shippers in Holyoke to
allow no one near the box, and one of the officials
ordered Read away from it. Read left, being
fairly sure that if the express officials were obey-
ing instructions so implicitly there was little
to fear from Odd Class attempts. Later in the
day the box was shipped to Buffalo. Before it
was shipped Read had seen detectives measuring
the box, and promptly telegraphed Whiteman in
Buffalo that pursuit was probable. Whiteman,
however, received the box and took it to Staple's
house on Parker Avenue. He remained in Buf-
falo all that day, but as there was no sign of pur-
suit he left for home.
An account in the Year Book of the class of
NINETEEN TWELVE 29
1911 furnishes the basis for the chronicling of
subsequent events. Wheelock, 1911, the man
who was the prime mover in all non-Sabrina
demonstrations, had discovered that Whiteman
was the 1912 guardian. That Sabrina would
appear in Amherst at Commencement was known
almost to a surety. These suspicions were con-
firmed by the appearance of Whiteman in com-
pany with Staples, '96 guardian, in the Green-
field station where they were seen by an Odd
Classman. Whiteman was accordingly watched.
It was not suspected that Sabrina would be
shown at the banquet of the class of 1900, for
1907 was holding its Class Supper in the same
hotel, The Draper, and the risk seemed too great
to be taken. However Sabrina was shown at
the reunion headquarters of 1900 in Amherst, on
Monday night, and the Odd Classmen were
caught napping.
Wheelock immediately set out to trace the stat-
ue's flight and soon learned that it had gone down
the Holyoke road and been shifted into another
automobile, but from here on the trail was lost.
Wheelock thought she had been shipped back to
Greenfield and accordingly went there next day.
Returning to Amherst he shadowed Whiteman
closely, thinking that he would soon slip out of
town to tend to the final hiding of the statue.
He learned that Whiteman was going to Green-
30 SABRINA
field next morning and would depart later in the
day for Rochester, so Wednesday morning Bates
and Wheelock took the car for Northampton.
To their surprise the Even Class guardian also
took this car. To further add to their dismay
he did not take the Greenfield train at North-
hampton, but sent a telegram to his brother say-
ing he would be unable to see him in Greenfield.
Whiteman now took the train to Springfield
whither he was followed by the two Odd Class-
men. As they neared the Holyoke station,
Whiteman suddenly jumped from the train.
Here he engaged in a short conversation with a
person who seemed to be expecting him. He
then entered the train again. Bates and Whee-
lock, following close on his trail, caught the train
as it pulled out, and when the latter again dropped
off the train at Riverside, they waited until the
train moved out of the station and then jumped
off, out of sight of their ward. With great diffi-
culty the two men followed the Sabrina guardian
for a while but eventually lost him in a crowd.
They promptly returned to Holyoke where
Wheelock made his way to the Baggage Room in
hopes of finding the statue. Here he saw the
man with whom Whiteman had spoken a few
moments before, and under pretense of looking
for some lost baggage he searched the office
and soon discovered a box bearing the address
NINETEEN TWELVE 31
of Staples. This, he was certain, contained
Sabrina.
Wheelock and Bates left the office planning to
come back later and put Sabrina on a train, but
in this move they were anticipated by White-
man. They promptly turned their steps toward
Springfield, notifying Pinkerton headquarters
that "the box" had been discovered at Holyoke,
and requesting that men follow and watch it.
Upon reaching Springfield, Bates was left to
watch while Wheelock went to New York to se-
cure funds for further pursuit. Bates wired him
that Sabrina had gone on to Buffalo, and he
promptly caught the train from New York
arriving in Buffalo about ten o'clock Thursday
morning. Here he found the box, with the
Pinkertons on guard. It was shortly afterward
delivered to Staple's house and Wheelock tele-
graphed to Amherst for reserves. On Friday
morning Hubbard '07, Stott and Williams, '11
arrived.
It was accordingly decided to attempt the
capture of Sabrina the next day and inasmuch as
the first move was to get Mr. Staples out of town,
Wheelock called at Staples' office, representing
himself as being a Mr. Francis Cogswell Wickes.
He told Mr. Staples that "he had recently in-
herited a large sum of money from his uncle in
Syracuse and that as the heirs were going to
32 SABRINA
contest the will, he wanted Mr. Staples to go
down to Syracuse for a conference with his
cousins." After some cross-examining Mr.
Staples consented, and it was agreed that he
should go down that afternoon, "Wickes" to
join him at Rochester.
Detectives confirmed Mr. Staples departure
that afternoon, and immediately Wheelock,
Clarke, Hubbard and Stott went to Staples'
house with a machine. They planned to arrive
there, represent themselves as Even Classmen
and present evidence that Whiteman had sent
them there to remove Sabrina, and in this way
make the capture. A telegram was to be de-
livered just after their arrival, supposedly signed
by Whiteman, to bear them out in their story.
But here an unkind fate upset their ingenious
plans: their machine blew a tire and they ar-
rived at Staple's house after the fake telegram
came, instead of before. This telegram read:
" Charles J. Staples, 246 Parker Avenue,
Buffalo, N. Y.
Rochester, 6.24 P. M.
" Hiding place discovered. Odd Classmen on
way to Buffalo on train to seize it. I am watched.
Am sending Miles with men in machine to trans-
fer. Deliver it to them and come with it your-
self."
(Signed) Harold B. Whiteman.
NINETEEN TWELVE 33
When the men arrived only Mrs. Staples was
at home, and as she did not know to which classes
her visitors belonged, she refused them admit-
tance. They asked for Mr. Staples and ap-
peared greatly surprised when told he was not at
home. Wheelock, introducing himself as Miles,
'12, produced a note supposedly written by
Whiteman directing him to go for the statue.
Mrs. Staples informed Wheelock that Sabrina
was not in the house and that she had not re-
ceived any telegram such as he had told her of,
and added that she would not believe them until
she heard directly from Whiteman. Wheelock,
playing his last trump, promptly told Mrs.
Staples that Whiteman had said that if he could
escape his followers he would wait for them at
the Hotel Richmond with a machine in which to
transfer Sabrina, and that in all probability she
could get him there now. Williams had been
stationed in this hotel and was to answer any
telephone calls for Staples. Mrs. Staples
promptly called, but here again fate intervened
between the Odd Classmen and their much
coveted goal. The telephone had just been
taken out.
In the meantime Mr. Staples, realizing that he
had been duped, telegraphed his wife to be care-
ful. Mrs. Staples promptly summoned the
police and the carefully laid plans for the cap-
34 SABRINA
ture of Sabrina by the class of 1911 were broken
up once and for all. Wheelock and his band
retreated with as good grace as they might, and
after shaking hands with Mrs. Staples, departed.
Later on they learned that Sabrina was taken
away in her box at 3.30 in the afternoon of July
4, and no trace of her destination was found.
Thus ended an exciting chapter in the life and
travels of a much followed Goddess. Combina-
tions of luck and bungling had robbed the Odd
Classmen of their best chance of obtaining pos-
session of Sabrina. But the war was still to be
waged.
Wheelock's account of this affair in the Year
Book, mentioned before, concludes as follows.
"Some day, however, the Evens will bungle, and
there will be no Mrs. Staples to save them, and
fortune may not favor them with flat tires and
missing telephones, and the police may not be
quite so near at hand, and then there will be a
different result in this most unequal contest."
Truly, a great prophecy!
The Even Classes were so worried by the at-
tempt led by Wheelock to rob them of their
Deity, that Sabrina did not again venture from
her hiding place until the banquet of the class
of 1914 which was held at the Hotel Rensselaer
in Troy, New York.
Sydney Chamberlain was appointed guardian
NINETEEN TWELVE 35
of '14 and every precaution was taken in making
arrangements.
Wednesday morning, February 14th, 1912 the
Even Classmen left Amherst for Albany, all but
two or three of the class of 1914 being present as
well as several seniors. They spent the day in
Albany and that evening gathered in the lobby of
the Hotel Ten Eyck. Stuart, '12, took the men
to Troy by trolley where they went at once to the
Hotel Rensselaer. During the dinner a tele-
gram was received from Fink in Boston, stating
that Wheelock, then in New York, and Blades,
'09, at that time in Brockton, had received news
of the banquet and were planning to take im-
mediate action. Sabrina was accordingly put
in her box and sent immediately to Buffalo
where she was again secreted in the house of
Staples '96.
NINETEEN FOURTEEN
WHEN commencement of 1913 ap-
proached, the powers that be, at the
instigation of Max Shoop, came to the
conclusion that it was time to bring Sabrina to the
attention of the college body and the returning
classes. This commencement was deemed an es-
pecially auspicious occasion inasmuch as a large
number of Even Classes were to be back, and par-
ticularly as 1910 was holding its third reunion.
As the result of a conference between Shoop,
and Chamberlain, '14, who was the guardian at
that time, it was definitely arranged to bring
Sabrina into town on the day of the Dartmouth
baseball game, and if possible, to drive her in a
machine on to Pratt Field and to exhibit her
before the commencement crowd.
The details were left entirely to Chamberlain,
who at a later date laid his plans before McGay
'14, the only other man in college who knew of the
Lady's present whereabouts. These two then
chose S. G. Hubbard, R. M. Kimball, W. O.
Morrow and Heald, '14, and W. H. Smith '16,
the latter two of whom were to drive the two
cars composing the expedition, to assist. The
guardian swore his assistants to eternal secrecy,
cautioning them that the success of their scheme
NINETEEN FOURTEEN 37
lay entirely in keeping any knowledge of it from
the Odd Classmen, and assuring them that every-
thing would be plain sailing if such were the case.
The plan outlined to the conspirators was that
Morrow would proceed to Buffalo where Sabrina
was in the keeping of C. J. Staples, '96, and con-
duct her to Springfield. At that point, he was
to be met by the Even Classmen. Sabrina was
then to be taken to Kibbe's candy factory, in
Springfield, unpacked from her box and then
placed in Smith's machine and taken to the home
of Hubert Barton, '10, in South Amherst. In
the meantime McGay and Kimball were assigned
the task of surreptitiously cutting away a part of
the fence on the western side of Pratt Field, and
then replacing it in such a manner that it might
be instantly removed in case the main exit
to the field should be blocked.
It was decided to let a few other even classmen
in on the plans an hour or so before the event
was to transpire for the purpose of having more
help in case of trouble. Men were to be sta-
tioned at both entrances of the field with pad-
locks and chains, one man at the underpass with
a flag to signal that the road was clear, another
at the Amherst House to receive telephone
messages from the automobile party as it ap-
proached town, and still another at the Delta Up-
silon House to keep watch on that part of town.
38 SABRINA
It was planned to start from Barton's house
with the statue in Smith's car and proceed to-
wards Pratt Field, stopping several times to
phone the lookouts. Arriving at the east gate
of the field, which was to be in charge of a ' 14
man, the car was to enter the field, drive across
the diamond, and make its way out by way of the
Hamp gate, where Heald '14, in his car, Buffing-
ton '14, Curtis '14 and Ames '16, on their motor
cycles, armed with revolvers, were to be waiting
and follow as a rear guard.
Chamberlain realized that he was under sus-
picion and knew that his absence from town would
be a clear announcement that something was
likely to happen. For this reason he delegated
Morrow as his representative and sent him to
Buffalo to meet Staples, receive Sabrina from
him and take her to Springfield.
Inasmuch as Staples and Morrow were not
acquainted with each other, the latter carried
with him a message from Professor Genung in
"Nungie's" own handwriting, that was to serve
as a pass port. This precaution was taken, for
they knew Staples would be extremely suspicious
owing to the nearly disastrous results of the
expedition led by Wheelock, '11, several years
before, and that he would require some very
definite proof of Morrow's identity and authority
before delivering his precious charge.
p
a
NINETEEN FOURTEEN 39
Such was the case, for when Morrow arrived
in Buffalo and made himself known to the cus-
todian he was forced to undergo a very rigid
examination before Staples finally accepted him
as Chamberlain's lieutenant. When Staples
was satisfied that everything was all right, he
turned the Lady over and Morrow immediately
consigned Sabrina, packed in her large box, to
the Express Company for shipment to Kibbe's
factory, and placed the customary $1000 value
upon it. The box was labeled machinery for a
" break down" job, and orders were to rush it
through with all possible speed.
All this took place on Sunday, the day before
the appearance was to take place, and Sabrina
was to leave Buffalo on the three o'clock train
that afternoon, arriving in Springfield at 3:30
A. M. Monday morning.
Sunday night in Amherst, the first of the
carefully laid plans miscarried, for while Kimball
and McGay were endeavoring to saw through the
fence at Pratt Field, they were frightened away
by a negro living in a nearby house who had been
awakened by the noise they were making. Late
that evening, they all met in Springfield on an
unfrequented side street and waited in the two
motors until it was time to meet the 3:30 train.
Great was the disappointment, however, when
at last the train arrived without the box; the long
40 SABRINA
hours till dawn dragged slowly on, numerous
trains arrived from the West, but none with the
expected burden. At 6 A. M. Morrow wired
Staples and Chamberlain phoned the faithful
watchman at Kibbe's of the latest turn of events,
for he was as eager for the experience as any of
the others, inasmuch as he had helped in other
escapades in former years. Not until 10 o'clock
did word come from Buffalo and then only to
say that a tracer was being sent, but no real news
of Sabrina was to be had.
Many were the misgivings and fears that went
through the minds of those men as they finally
saw their carefully prepared plans were doomed
to failure and as seemed likely at that moment,
that they had undoubtedly been outwitted by
the Odds and Sabrina had passed to other hands.
Not until Tuesday morning did definite word
come from Staples, and then it was to say that
the box had never left Buffalo, due to some
mix-up in the office of the Express Company.
It was then too late to bring the Lady through
that Commencement, so, keyed up as they were
with excitement and anticipation, Shoop and
Chamberlain decided to cause a little fun at the
Lawn Fete and give the Odd Classes something
to ponder about. With this in mind, Ferguson
'16 was secured to use his car and with Avirett '16
under a robe and several others on the running
NINETEEN FOURTEEN 41
board, they appeared in front of Walker Hall
while the Lawn Fete was in progress. Word had
already been passed around for the Even Class-
men to meet there at 10 o'clock. In the dark-
ness Avirett raised himself up under his covering,
there was great cheering and singing of "All
Hail/' and the automobile disappeared, leaving
the onlookers under the impression that they had
actually seen the Goddess. Opinion was quite
evenly divided as to whether or not Sabrina had
actually been present, until Chamberlain wrote
an article for "The Monthly" in 1916 clearing up
the episode. Naturally, those who were on the
inside kept a close mouth and smiled a knowing
smile, whenever the subject was mentioned.
All during commencement the Odd Classmen
were busy and had things carried through as
Chamberlain had planned, the subsequent his-
tory of Sabrina might have been very different.
At water and Lyon '15 were patrolling the town
in a car, the underpass was blocked and other
guards were stationed on the road to Holyoke,
so both sides were bitterly disappointed at the
turn affairs took and all silently expressed the
hope: "better luck next time."
After the unsuccessful attempt to bring Sabrina
into Amherst in June, 1913, she remained peace-
fully in Buffalo during the summer and until
February of 1914. No efforts were made to
42 SABRINA
show her that fall, for the reason that McGay,
Chamberlain, and Morrow were all on the foot-
ball team and did not care to entrust her safety
to others. They thought it best to postpone
any attempt until the banquet of 1914 and 1916,
which was to be held during the late winter.
In February of 1914, Chamberlain went to
New York where he met Shoop and Burt, '12,
the two previous guardians, to discuss plans for
the coming banquet. This consultation was a
necessary part of the guardian's duties, because
it was always required that the two preceding
guardians give their consent before any move
might be made.
The general sentiment at this conference was
that the banquet be held as near as possible to
Amherst, for it was felt that an extra stimulus
was needed to give the Odd Classmen encourage-
ment in their pursuit. Chamberlain was anxious
to have it held in Pittsfield and as there was no
objection, that town was decided upon.
A week later, the guardian journeyed to Pitts-
field to meet John Downes, the manager of the
Wendell Hotel. Chamberlain outlined the mat-
ter to Manager Downes, told him of the secrecy
required, and found Mr. Downes a most en-
thusiastic and helpful assistant. All plans for
the forthcoming dinner were made on the spot
so no further communication would be required.
NINETEEN FOURTEEN 43
In the meantime, G. W. Washburn, President
of 1916, had appointed a banquet committee,
composed of William Esty, Edward Goodridge,
Stewart Rider, and Winthrop Smith, to take
care of such matters as menu cards, special trains,
speakers, and informing the Even Classmen in
secret of the time of departure. Smith was
chosen to arrange a train schedule unknown
even to the rest of the committee. A week
ahead of time the committee were told that the
date set was March 18th, and that a special
train would leave Amherst at noon, and that the
men should be taken to Springfield where seats
had been engaged at Poli's theatre for everyone.
The classes were to be allowed to think the
dinner was to be held in Springfield and were to
be told to meet outside of the theatre; further
than that the committee was to say nothing.
W. 0. Morrow was again commissioned to go
to Buffalo, which he proceeded to do, leaving
Amherst on Tuesday and reaching his destination
late that night. This time he experienced no
difficulty with Mr. Staples, as the latter knew
him well on account of their meeting the year
before. Wednesday morning, Sabrina was
turned over to Morrow who in turn delivered her
to the Express Company, consigning her for ship-
ment to John Downes in Pittsfield. Remember-
ing his previous failure, Morrow took no chances
44 SABRINA
and travelled with the box that there might be
no mistake or delays. Everything went smoothly
and he reached Pittsfield the afternoon before the
others arrived. Mr. Downes secreted Sabrina
in the wine cellar where she reposed safely under
lock and key. While there alone, Morrow was
extremely worried, for Staples had shown him a
wire that he had just received, saying, "Ship
Box of Paper to Westfield," signed, "S. D.
Chamberlain." This appeared authentic enough
as Sabrina was always referred to as a "Box of
Paper " in communication between Chamberlain
and himself. However, Morrow assured him
that the plans had not been changed, but it
was sufficient to show them that the Odd Class-
men knew more than they should, and were
planning trouble.
Early Wednesday morning a group, consisting
of Chamberlain, McGay, Kimb^ll, '14, and Rob-
inson '16, left Amherst at different times to meet
in Springfield. Thereafter, they departed in Rob-
inson's automobile for Pittsfield. It was deemed
advisable to take along a car, in which to carry
the statue away from the hotel, should they be
forced to move hurriedly; and it was thought best
to have a car that could not be traced, rather than
a, public taxi whose driver might easily be bribed
to give important information. They had not
been gone long when a heavy snow storm began
NINETEEN FOURTEEN 45
to make travelling difficult; they were well into
the Berkshires, when, after several mishaps,
they saw it was impossible to proceed further by
automobile, and so they stopped at Chester and
went the rest of the way by train.
In the meantime, back in Amherst, the classes
of 1914 and 1916 assembled at the B. & M.
Station at noontime by ones and twos. So
carefully had the announcement been made by
the Committee, that the special train was well
on its way to Springfield before the Odds realized
the Sabrina banquet was about to take place.
The worshippers of the Goddess went calmly
from the station to the theatre while the members
of 1915 were desperately telegraphing and tele-
phoning all over the surrounding country. Inas-
much as the Evens apparently had no intention
of going beyond Springfield, the Odds decided to
concentrate their efforts on that town and laid
their plans to that effect. However, their sur-
prise was great, for when the theatre had finished,
the committee directed everyone to go to the
station and board a special train, waiting there
for them. This was accomplished within a very
short space of time, and by 5:15 P. M. they were
headed for Pittsfield where they arrived at six
thirty.
The banquet began immediately with no
interruption from the enemy, although a 1907
46 SABRINA
graduate unwittingly put in an appearance and
had the rare privilege of gazing on Sabrina. As
soon as the dinner was finished, the Goddess was
carried in amidst wild yells and shouts of ap-
proval from her admirers. The strain of "All
Hail Sabrina Dear" commenced while the eager
Sophomores of 1916, who gazed on their cherished
Goddess for the first time, rushed forth to en-
velop her in their embrace and place an ardent
kiss upon her lips. When the enthusiasm had
somewhat abated, Chamberlain succeeded in
making himself heard and told of the whereabouts
of her hiding place during the last two years, at
the same time announcing that he had been the
guardian. This fact was greeted with renewed
cheers, for the element of secrecy regarding the
guardian was always of the greatest interest,
continually causing a deal of conjecture. It
frequently happened that guardians were present
at such times and were obliged to join in the
argument expressing their opinion along with
the rest. Many amusing incidents of this kind
were wont to happen as the pros and cons of
various men for the office were set forth.
Before the banquet, it had been decided that
the safest place to keep the statue was right in
the Hotel, and as Manager Downes was agree-
able, and even offered a room for that purpose,
Chamberlain had Sabrina taken back to the
W. H. SMITH
1916 Guardian
NINETEEN FOURTEEN 47
wine room and packed safely away in the box.
In order to give the Odd Classmen a fake clue, if
they happened to be in the vicinity, a large box,
closely resembling the original, was placed in a
car manned by McGay, Kimball, Robinson, and
Andrews, '16, which speeded rapidly away to
the outskirts of the town, where the box was
broken up and hidden. These men then went to
Andrew's home in Pittsfield, taking an early
morning train back to Amherst.
Back in the Wendell, the party went merrily
on, for in those days the 18th amendment had
not even been dreamed of, and there was cause
for much jubilation. Once again Sabrina had
shown herself and once again she had departed
without interference. While half the college
celebrated, Morrow and Chamberlain were mak-
ing themselves comfortable in the wine cellar,
zealously chaperoning Sabrina, lest any ardent
youth of 1915 enslaved by her attractions, might
seek to steal her away for his own glorification.
The time was spent in this manner, cots having
been brought in, so that the two caretakers were
able to spend a most comfortable night. They
had planned to take an early morning train, but
as Manager Downes reported that two men,
apparently detectives, had been questioning him
and endeavoring to get information from the serv-
ants, it was deemed best to remain under cover
48 SABRINA
till later. This they did till -late in the after-
noon, when word was passed to them that the
coast was clear. As it was not possible to keep
Sabrina in the wine cellar, the manager turned
over a room on the sixth floor, where she was
placed in a closet upon the door of which a spe-
cial lock was fastened. This having been ac-
complished, Chamberlain and Morrow left Pitts-
field for Amherst.
NINETEEN SIXTEEN
SEVERAL months after the Pittsfield ban-
quet, Chamberlain and Smith, '16, took a
quiet motor trip one Sunday afternoon, the
destination of which was the scene of the festiv-
ities just described. On this occasion the former
guardian introduced the 1916 guardian to Man-
ager Down'es of the Wendell Hotel. This had not
been possible before, because it was most import-
ant that the next guardian be kept carefully in the
background that there might be no suspicion as
to his identity. As soon as Chamberlain had
revealed the next custodian to Mr. Downes and
had assured himself that Sabrina still remained
safely in the Wendell, the two left for Amherst.
About the first of June, Smith found an excuse
to leave town and seized the opportunity to
journey to Pittsfield where he immediately ob-
tained the statue, turned it over to the American
Express Company and consigned it to himself
in Boston.
Washburn, '16, had made arrangements with
his father for the safe-keeping of Sabrina, so
Smith had her transferred to a train for Brockton
on arrival in Boston. Unfortunately, he found
that the express car on the first train was entirely
filled and as he was in a great hurry, prevailed on
50
SABRINA
the locomotive engineer to allow the box to be
loaded on the tender. Thus, Sabrina travelled for
thirty odd miles amidst the coal and cinders;
it was a strange sight and must have caused
much curiosity, but all went well and they arrived
safely in Brockton. Here Mr. Washburn met
Smith with an automobile truck and they carried
the Goddess to a storehouse of his where she was
destined to spend considerable of her time for
the next two years.
Shortly before college opened in the fall of
1914, George Washburn arrived in Springfield
with the Lady and from that point journeyed by
automobile to Smith's home in South Hadley.
For three months, the two had been studiously
planning a campaign for showing Sabrina to the
student body. Realizing that as the general
consensus of opinion among the Odd Classes
was that an appearance would be staged on
Pratt Field, they decided some other occasion
would be more auspicious. Their purpose was
to find a time when most of the college body
would be gathered together, and likewise a
situation that would completely surprise every-
one. At last they agreed upon Chapel Rush.
For the first time this ancient fracas was to be
held on the common in front of College Hall.
This situation had everything in its favor; there
were two main roads to choose as an exit, and
NINETEEN SIXTEEN 51
as the affair was to take place at the very opening
of college, they felt that the Odds would have
had no chance to discuss plans for a defense.
All this having been decided, Washburn and
Smith arranged their plans in detail.
Before sunrise on the morning of Thursday, the
24th of September 1914, Sabrina was placed in
Smith's motor, covered with robes, and with top
up and curtains down, the men mentioned above
proceeded north to Hadley and thence to North
Amherst.
The policy decided upon had been to take as
few into confidence as was possible, for the
guardians were firmly convinced that secrecy
and not numbers would go farthest towards
success. With this in mind, Ed Goodridge and
Burt Ames, '16, had been asked to be in North
Amherst early that morning, the latter to bring
his motorcycle. In addition Gregory, '12, Kim-
ball and Heald, '14, and Robinson, '16, were
to act as a rear guard in Gregory's car and Pike
Gillies, '16, 1 was selected to keep the motor party
in touch with the situation by 'phone.
At North Amherst, Goodridge took Wash-
burn's place, as he was obliged to return to
college to help conduct the Chapel Rush, he
being class president. Goodridge and Smith,
followed by Ames, immediately went northward
1 Killed in Wall Street explosion, September 16, 1920.
52 SABRINA
finding a retired spot on a lonely road a mile or
so above the village where they felt it would be
safe to remain. It was but 8 : 30, with more than
two hours before the coup was to occur. Smith
carefully explained the plan to the others and
together they discussed every eventuality. As
the Rush was to take place on the common for
the first time, it was hard to tell how the specta-
tors would be situated, and whether the road to
Holyoke would be open. If possible they wished
to take that road, but if this was not feasible,
they would take the next best course and go out
by way of Northampton.
At eleven o'clock, Ames opened telephone
communication from a nearby farmhouse with
Gillies, who was in his room at the Psi U house,
where he was able to overlook the campus. He
reported that chapel was then going on and added
that the aspect of affairs was a bit suspicious,
for a number of seniors had carried golf sticks
and baseball bats to chapel instead of canes, as
was the usual custom. This news was rather
disquieting to the three men, who pictured flying
clubs, being directed at their heads, but they
reassured themselves by looking over their own
armament, which consisted of a shot gun, two
Colts, and several bats, and felt that they could
give a good account of themselves if worst came
to worst.
NINETEEN SIXTEEN 53
At eleven forty, the three Even Classmen, with
Ames in the lead acting as scout, left their hiding
place, going to North Amherst and thence
through the Aggie Campus to the lower part of
Amity Street. There they found a small house
well sheltered from the street by trees, and there,
with the owner's permission, they secluded them-
selves, lowered the top of the car, and put every-
thing in readiness for the ride through town.
Again Ames called Gillies on the phone, and held
the wire open. Shortly before twelve, the latter
reported chapel was dismissed, that a large crowd
had gathered before College Hall to witness the
Rush, and that a large number of motors were
lined up on either side of the road. For that
reason, he advised Hamp road as the best means
of exit, and they decided to follow his advice.
Then came the message that the Rush had be-
gun. Ames hurried out of the house, jumped on
his machine and started off. The other two, with
the Lady, were close behind. Up Amity Street
they went and turned the Amherst House corner.
There, Gregory's machine with the bodyguard of
Even Classmen were waiting and followed im-
mediately behind the car with Sabrina; then came
F. M. Smith, '84, in another motor, and joined
the rear guard procession. In front of Alpha
Delt., Washburn jumped on the running board,
joining Goodridge and Smith. At this point,
54 SABRINA
the covering was pulled away from Sabrina and
the Goddess appeared for the first time in several
years to a very surprised Amherst crowd.
Then they speeded up. A horse and wagon
was standing directly across the Holyoke road,
apparently to block it. However, Gillies sud-
denly rushed forth from the crowd, dragged the
horse to one side leaving the road clear. That
was all Ames needed, and without a moment's
hesitation he chose that direction. Several shots
fired in the air attracted the attention of the
spectators and all were able to get a clear view
of Sabrina as she passed through their midst
and on down the Holyoke Road.
Before the Rush began, Tom Ashley, 1 '16, had
visited all the automobiles, relieving them of
their spark plugs and keys. This prevented
any immediate attempt to follow and was largely
responsible for the easy get away.
The party with Sabrina travelled directly over
the Amherst-Holyoke road by way of the Notch
at a rapid rate of speed. On nearing Holyoke,
the other cars were signalled that they were no
longer needed; Washburn and Smith went di-
rectly to the latter's home, put Sabrina carefully
away, and were back in Amherst by the middle
of the afternoon.
Shortly after this memorable trip, Sabrina was
1 Killed in action at Belleau Wood while serving with the Marines.
I
O*
NINETEEN SIXTEEN 55
packed away in her box and again continued her
travels, this time under the guidance of Wash-
burn and Smith. She journeyed to Brockton, re-
maining there for just one year under the careful
watch of Washburn's father.
Numerous plans were contemplated for bring-
ing the Goddess forth and it was finally decided
to exhibit her once again to, the alumni at com-
mencement in June 1915. The details were all
carefully arranged, the various duties were as-
signed, while Mr. Washburn remained ready at
a moment's notice to ship the box by express on
receipt of a coded telegram. At the last moment,
the secret service of 1916 discovered the Odd
Classmen had worked out elaborate plans to
circumvent any attempt made at this time, and
so it was decided best to let the Lady rest in
peace until a more favorable opportunity might
present itself.
During the summer, Washburn and the guard-
ian had several conferences and finally decided
to hold the next banquet within walking distance
of Amherst in order to prove decisively to the
Odd Classmen how fruitless any effort to capture
Sabrina would be on their part. With this in
mind, Smith visited the Nonotuck during the
latter part of the summer to talk with Mr. Bene-
dict, the manager. He outlined the plan and
Mr. Benedict agreed to the arrangements, even
56 SABRINA
offering his private storeroom on the top of the
hotel as a hiding place for the statue, and swore
by all that was holy to maintain the utmost
secrecy.
In September 1915, before college had opened,
Washburn came to Holyoke with Sabrina. Here
he was met by the guardian and conducted to
the Nonotuck, where the Goddess was carefully
concealed according to the prearranged plan.
At the same time the menu for the banquet was
agreed upon, the date was set, and Mr. Benedict
was given to understand that he would hear no
further word until his guests arrived in February
of the following year.
Little did the many students of Amherst
realize, who so frequently visited the Nonotuck
in that year when prohibition reigned in Hamp,
that they were dining and drinking under the
same roof with Sabrina. Such was the case
however, yet she rested as peacefully and safely,
dreaming of her past and future glories as though
she were a thousand miles away from her beloved
campus.
During the night before the banquet which was
held on February 22, 1916, the members of 1916
and 1918 were given their instructions individ-
ually by the sophomore committee and at noon
the next day they wandered in small groups to the
Boston and Maine station. At lunch time, the
NINETEEN SIXTEEN 57
Odd Classmen awoke to the fact that no Even
Classmen were in Amherst, and at once began
making plans to break up the banquet. In the
meantime the special train was speeding to-
wards Springfield. On arriving in that city, the
two classes proceeded to Poli's theatre where the
entire orchestra had been reserved for them.
They assembled again at five thirty, still in com-
plete ignorance of their destination, and boarded
special electric cars which took them to the door
of the Nonotuck in Holyoke.
Several Odd Classmen had traced the Even
Classmen to Springfield, arriving in time to see
them depart for Holyoke, and by hiring a taxi they
were able to follow them. At Holyoke, they got
in touch with Amherst and ordered a large num-
ber of their cohorts to come down immediately.
They felt that their time had come and they
made hasty preparations to break up the dinner
and to follow the car bearing Sabrina, when it
should leave the hotel.
Earlier in the day, five Seniors: Ames, Ashley,
Goodridge, Smith and Washburn, left town for
Holyoke. By a prearranged plan, they met the
guardian, who had secured a truck and a large
packing box which closely resembled the one
the Lady was kept in. This was taken to the
Nonotuck where the five men carried it to the
store room where Sabrina was concealed. There
58 SABRINA
they remained until word was received that the
special cars had come.
The dinner began immediately, while outside,
three husky policemen guarded each exit with
strict orders to allow no one to enter the hotel
except with the permission of an Even Classman
who remained there on watch with them. In
this way the committee felt that the banquet
could go on in peace even though every Odd
Classman in college put in an appearance. The
original plan had been to wait until the banquet
was finished before showing Sabrina, but word
was received from Amherst that a great many
1917 men were on their way to Holyoke. For
this reason, the five Seniors hastened their plans
and carried the Goddess into the Banquet Hall
while the dinner was still in progress. Immedi-
ately loud and prolonged cheers burst forth and
then came " All Hail Sabrina Dear," which lasted
for some fifteen minutes with unabated enthusi-
asm. It was finally silenced by Senior Class
president Washburn, who introduced Winthrop
Smith as the 1916 guardian. The banqueters
then marched forward to kiss their Goddess
according to the time honored custom. After
this ceremony, the men were allowed a more
intimate inspection of the famous statue, then
a flashlight photograph was taken and Sabrina
disappeared again from the eyes of the world.
NINETEEN SIXTEEN 59
This time her journey was extremely short,
for the seniors carried her to the storeroom up-
stairs and locked her up safely. They then
substituted the box that had been brought in
during the afternoon and put it on the elevator
and thence to the rear door where Smith's
chauffeur was waiting with a motor. With much
pretended effort, they succeeded in placing it in
the car and sped swiftly away, only just in time
however, for within a very few minutes a large
crowd of 1917 men arrived. As the box was
being placed in the car there were three or four
Odd Classmen within a few yards, but they dared
do nothing to interfere, only following immedi-
ately in a taxi.
The car with the seniors dodged through a
number of streets and alleys and when they felt
that they had lost any pursuers that might still
be on their track, they headed for South Hadley;
there they broke up the box and carefully hid
the remnants. Then they separated with in-
structions not to appear in Amherst until next
day, in order to give the appearance that Sabrina
had been taken away to a considerable distance.
In June of that year, plans were again made
to bring Sabrina into Amherst at commencement,
for the class of 1910 was holding its sixth
reunion and Shoop of that class was very eager
to show her to his classmates. Sabrina was still
60 SABRINA
in Holyoke so it was thought it would be a com-
paratively easy matter to rush her in to 1910
headquarters and back again. Monday night
was the time set, but a few hours before, the wife
of one of the Odd Class alumni very fortunately
made the remark to one of the men that was to
take part in showing the Goddess that night,
that they were going to use her husband's car
that evening to help catch Sabrina. Again plans
were called off, while Odd Class cars patrolled
the roads all night long in vain hope of giving
chase.
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN
PHILIP H. SEE had been appointed guar-
dian for the class of 1918. Sabrina was offi-
cially turned over to him in June 1916 by
Winthrop H. Smith, the 1916 guardian. In the
latter part of this month, the Goddess was sent by
express from Holyoke to New York and taken to
a warehouse on 107th Street where a private room
had been provided for her safe-keeping. In the
trip from Holyoke the box in which the Goddess
had been travelling for ten years had become
entirely demolished, and early in September the
guardian, together with George B. Carter, '06,
visited the warehouse and built a new box, antic-
ipating some fast and furious travelling in the
near future.
See in the meantime had been in close com-
munication with George Washburn, '16, and
together they planned some rather startling inno-
vations in connection with the appearance of
Sabrina in Amherst. It has always been the
ambition of each succeeding Sabrina class to
outdo its predecessor in the spectacular way in
which Sabrina shall be shown to the college body
at Amherst. The first of these appearances was
to be inside of Chapel during the Spring of 1917,
and the other one was to be at Commencement
61
62 SABRINA
of the same year. For this latter event, a de-
tailed plan had been worked out whereby Sabrina
was to appear four times within an hour, the
cars containing the statue using the back roads
of the town, and returning to the center at
stated intervals, it being expected that the Odd
Classmen would be thrown into such a state
of confusion over each separate appearance that
they would not expect the Goddess again on the
same day and at the same place.
It will be remembered that in the spring of
1917 the United States entered the World War,
and the college was thrown immediately into a
state of confusion. Military training was es-
tablished and the college given over to prepara-
tions for war. With the resignation of the
guardian and most of his committee from college,
all plans for the appearances of Sabrina were
cancelled. The Goddess had not been moved
from her hiding place in New York, and it was
decided to leave her there until affairs settled
down generally and the college returned to
normal conditions. Harold F. Johnson, '18,
was appointed temporary guardian for 1918 and
Sabrina was turned over to him late that spring.
A year later, Johnson decided that an appro-
priate time had arrived for showing the Goddess
in Amherst. During the early spring he and
Jacob Estey, '18, spent many afternoons on the
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 63
golf links, and together worked out the plans for
the proposed appearance. These two men de-
cided that Sabrina's next appearance should be a
truly exciting affair: one which would not only
completely outwit and humiliate the Odd Class-
men, but which would be as original and daring
an enterprise as any former escapade. Johnson
had heard from See of the plan to show Sabrina
inside Chapel and this idea struck him as being
quite suited to an appearance.
However, when they came to lay their plans,
they found that the difficulties that would be
encountered in taking the Goddess into Johnson
Chapel were so great that the idea hardly seemed
feasible. Either the statue would have to be
taken there the night before and securely hidden
until the critical moment, or a large body-guard
would have to be employed to carry her in and
out during Chapel exercises. Both plans seemed
too risky. At this time, classes, chiefly seminar
courses, were being held in the evening in
Johnson Chapel, and for this reason the two
men came to the conclusion that they might
encounter too much eavesdropping. It also
appeared impossible to rush the Goddess in at
the Chapel service for reasons which are too
obvious to mention. The college had had a
taste of one war and it was not thought good
form to precipitate another,
64 SABRINA
Still clinging to the idea, a Chapel appearance
was worked out. It was decided that some
method should be employed which would allow
the Even Classmen to leave the building after
Chapel without arousing the suspicion of the
Odd Classmen, and that Sabrina should be
brought up along the road and held up to the
view of the Odd Classmen. Doors and windows
were to be securely locked and guarded, and
for this purpose various Even Classmen were
told off.
Estey and Johnson went over these plans
carefully several times, and having made sure
that no slips were likely to occur, decided on an
early date in April for the appearance.
Johnson, on the pretext of urgent business,
went to New York where he took Sabrina from
her place of hiding where she had been since
June 1916, and arranged to have her shipped to
Brattleboro, Vermont, on the White Mountain
Express. No difficulty was experienced in ar-
ranging for the trip, and Johnson accompanied
the Goddess. He arrived in Brattleboro about
midnight where he was met by Estey. To-
gether, they loaded the statue into the latter's
car and took it to his house. Sabrina was here
placed in the drawing room. Amid these sur-
roundings, which were a great change for the
Goddess after her many trips over land and sea
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN
65
in rough boxes, and her long sojourns in out-of-
the-way places, she stayed while two or three
Even Class alumni, who lived in the vicinity,
one of whom was a former guardian, came in to
pay her their respects.
At six the next morning, she was placed in
Estey's car and started for Amherst. In the
car were Chase, Johnson, Estey, '18, and Estey's
younger brother, of the class of nineteen twenty.
After an uneventful journey they arrived on the
outskirts of the town at about quarter of eight.
Here they stayed until the student body, rushing
in its customary hurried way to breakfast and
even more hurriedly to Chapel, was safely behind
the doors of the building. Not until the last
straggler was seen running up the hill did they
venture onto the campus. Circling the Com-
mon, they drove around the terrace by the church
and came to a stop opposite Appleton Cabinet,
where the plan was for them to halt until they
should be signalled that Chapel was over and
the coast clear. While they were waiting here
three Odd Classmen, having cut Chapel and on
their way to classes, passed very near to the car
without suspecting its precious occupant. One
of them stopped in passing to light a cigar-
ette, but his thoughts were elsewhere and his
chance, if it could be said to have been a chance,
slipped by.
66 SABRINA
Inside the building, Chapel was drawing to a
close. There was the usual impatience to be
gone and have the customary cigarette before
entering the class room for the first hour. At
the end of the reading of notices, Malcolm Sharp,
'18, with a serious face, requested the classes
of '19 and '21 to remain in their seats for a few
moments after the conclusion of the exercises.
As the recessional was played the Even Classmen
filed out. Immediately, the doors were secured
and as soon as it was sure that the Odds were
trapped, the signal was given. Sabrina was
quickly moved from her hiding place and as the
car containing her slowly moved by the south
side of Chapel, Sabrina was lifted from the ton-
neau of the car and held up to the gaze of the
bewildered Odd Classmen, who were looking
dumfounded from the windows, and to the Even
Classmen gathered outside Chapel. A few men
succeeded in dropping from the lower windows
to the ground, but there were too many Evens
protecting the Goddess, and nothing was ac-
complished. "All hail, Sabrina" rent the air,
and after a few moments the machine drove
away over the Notch.
Pursuit was ineffectual for some time, as the
Even Class program had included the complete
incapacitation of all automobiles and motor-
cycles belonging to Odd Classmen. After driv-
P. H. SEE
1918 Guardian
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 67
ing about the country for a couple of hours to
make sure that no one was following, the men
above mentioned who were accompanying the
statue, took it to a barn on the road to Westfield
not far out of that town. Here she was hidden
deep in a hay-mow. That same morning Seward
and Hallock, '19, after vainly attempting to get
the latter's car in commission, succeeded after
an hour's work in getting it to run. They picked
up Soliday, Brown and South worth, '19, president
of the class, and drove to Springfield. Here they
made a thorough search of the railroad station
but nothing was found. The Odd Classmen
drove around the neighboring country for several
hours in the hopes of picking up a trail. The
much sought car seemed ever just beyond the
next rise in the road, and great was the disap-
pointment of these men as they returned to
Springfield late that afternoon. Resolved to
make a last search, they explored every nook
and cranny of the station, and it was not until
late in the evening that they turned toward
Amherst, a sorely disappointed lot.
At this point of the story it is necessary to
digress to bring to light matters which have
been kept secret for a long time. This present
publication seems to be a good opportunity to
present another side of the Sabrina Story, which
has hitherto been an unknown quantity in this
68 SABRINA
most exciting episode of college life. The facts
for the story have been presented by Bowman,
'19, and we have followed closely his account
believing that it portrays one of the most inter-
esting points of Sabrina history.
When the statue of Sabrina was originally
made, two casts were drawn. One of these was
given to Amherst College and its subsequent
treatment at the hands of students, its removal
from the campus, its revelation to the men of
'90, and later career, are too well known to men-
tion in detail here.
The duplicate of this statue was bought by a
graduate of Cornell University, who placed it in
his garden at his home in a town in North Caro-
lina. It mysteriously disappeared. The story
from here on was told to Bowman by a graduate
of Amherst in the class of '96. At the time that
Wheelock, '11, so nearly succeeded in capturing
Sabrina at Buffalo from the Even Classmen,
he traced it to the house of Staples, '96, a
former guardian. Here all trace of the statue
was lost after an unsuccessful attempt to outwit
the former Even Class custodian's wife. This
event attracted considerable attention and the
newspapers featured it. Various articles con-
cerning the attempted capture came to the notice
of the Cornell graduate, and he employed Pinker-
ton detectives to find the " Sabrina" that the
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 69
accounts so glaringly told of, in the hopes that
it might prove to be the one which had vanished
from his garden. It is recorded that the Pinker-
tons were successful in their attempt to find the
lost property, and that they actually did get
possession of a Sabrina. However, it is also a
fact that a Sabrina made a subsequent appear-
ance under the guardianship of an Even Class-
man. The Cornell graduate took the Sabrina
which had been restored to him, to his summer
home on Lake Erie, near Buffalo, and again placed
her in his garden.
Bowman heard about this duplicate Sabrina
and went to the Cornell graduate, offering to buy
the statue, but its owner refused to part with it.
The story of the '96 men had made such an im-
pression upon Bowman that he resolved to obtain
the statue no matter what the risk might be.
He, accordingly, pursuaded a friend of his, who
singularly enough, was a Cornell student of the
class of 1919, to go with him to get the statue.
The home of the Cornell graduate was within
driving distance of Bowman's house in James-
town. Taking along another friend, a Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania man, they set out in two
cars, one of which was to be used to block any
pursuers in case they were followed. Both these
cars were of the same model and make. Arriv-
ing at their destination between three and four
70 SABRINA
in the morning, they left the machines near the
road and entered the garden. Here they found
the statue reposing peacefully in the middle of
the garden. Quietly they lifted it from its
resting place, put it in the car and bore it away.
Making sure that no one was following, the
two cars parted, going in different directions, to
throw off possible pursuit.
This statue was hidden in Jamestown, New
York, where it remained until early in the year
1917. Bowman, at the advice of Southworth,
whom he had told of his capture, decided to
bring Sabrina nearer to Amherst with the end in
view of taking advantage of any opportunity
that might present itself. Accordingly, he
shipped it to Greenfield in his Sophomore year
just after Christmas, and had it securely hid-
den in a safe deposit vault in a bank in that
town. It stayed here undisturbed during the
rest of the year, and after college had closed,
Bowman had it taken back to New York state
where he concealed it in a hay-mow on a farm
near his home during the summer.
In the fall Bowman returned to college, leav-
ing the statue behind him. Bowman brought
this matter to the attention of Soliday and
Seward and these men, together with Southworth
decided to bring Bowman's statue nearer to Am-
herst; by singular coincidence the statue arrived
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 71
about three weeks before the appearance of theSa-
brina of the Even Classes recorded above. Accord-
ingly, it was shipped to South Hadley, in care of
Philip Stacy/ 19, who lived there. Here it was kept
in a tool house belonging to Mt. Holyoke College.
As an interesting side light on the appearance
of Sabrina that had taken place on the morning
recorded above, the idea which took shape in the
now famous dual appearance of Sabrina, oc-
curred to the Odd Classmen as they were return-
ing from Springfield after their vain search for
the Goddess. They decided to bring Bowman's
Sabrina through Amherst in the hopes that the
Even Classmen should be so upset that they
would disclose immediately the hiding place of
their statue and that they would thus be able to
get both statues of Sabrina.
The plans of the Odd Classmen differed some-
what from those which had been made for the
showing on the previous day. Southworth
was to make an announcement in Chapel that
Sabrina was outside on the Holyoke Road in
the hands of the class of 1919. It was known to
the Odd Classmen that Johnson was the official
guardian of the class of 1918, and accordingly,
Southworth and Tilton were told off to watch
him during the entire day, to see if he made any
telephone calls, and to report these at once.
Estey was placed under like surveillance.
72 SABRINA
As a precaution, several Freshman were to be
posted along the Holyoke Road, to stand guard
around the statue in case any Even Classmen
succeeded in breaking through the crowd of
Odds that was to form around Chapel door.
At six o'clock that morning, after only a few
hours sleep, Soliday, Brown, Bowman, Stacy and
Seward, '19, went to South Hadley in Hallock's
Packard, where they took the statue out of
the tool house. After placing it on the back
seat of the car they covered it with blankets
and drove quickly towards Amherst. On the
way they paused for breakfast at a farm house
on the outskirts of the town just beyond Mount
Doma. At 8:15, just as Chapel was starting,
the car arrived in Amherst, and to kill time until
Chapel should be let out the men drove around
Pratt Field, up the Hamp Road, past the Psi
U. House, and down the Holyoke Road, where
they waited for several minutes. At this junc-
ture Andy Clark, '20, drove by in a car. The
Odd Classmen were much alarmed, for they
had been up all night, the guardianship of
Sabrina was a new and thrilling experience
for them and they were ready to jump at the
slightest suspicious sign. The Freshmen who
were posted along the road promptly seized the
intruder and held him, preventing his further
advance.
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 73
Just as a thrilling announcement had been
made the day before in Johnson Chapel, so now
was the student body electrified to hear South-
worth announce in shaky voice, " If any one would
like to see the real Sabrina, they will find her at
the foot of the hill on the Holyoke Road in the
hands of the class of 1919." Pandemonium
broke loose. Odd Classmen gave vent to their
feelings of astonishment and joy in unrestrained
howls, among which could be heard " All Hails."
Everyone made a rush for the nearest door, and
the result was a finer scrimmage than was
ever before seen at a Chapel or Flag rush.
Far down the hill on the road to Holyoke,
raised high in the rear of Hallock's car, reposed a
shining statue of the Goddess Sabrina, sur-
rounded by the men of the Class of Nineteen
Nineteen. Even Classmen rushed towards- it
but were tripped by opposing Odds, and to-
gether, they rolled down the embankment in a
melee of flying legs and arms. The few men who
succeeded in approaching the car were quickly
laid low by the faithful Freshmen as the car
slowly moved off down the road and was soon
lost to sight.
The statue was immediately taken back to
Stacy's house and the men returned to college
where they attended classes during the morning,
having previously detoured through Holyoke
74 SABRINA
and Northampton to avoid suspicion. The
excitement of the occasion proved too intense
and late that afternoon several of the men who
had taken part in the escapade, together with
Dave Craig, '17, slipped quietly out of town and
went to South Hadley where they took the
statue to Northampton and hid it in a wood
pile in the cellar of the house of a friend of
Craig's.
All that day excitement was intense through-
out the college. Southworth and Tilt on made
every effort to shadow Johnson and Estey, but
discovered no telephone calls. In fact, Johnson's
first thought was to telephone, but divining the
real intent of the Odd Classmen in planning this
appearance, he deterred. Later in the morning
he and Estey succeeded in getting away from
town by a back road and went promptly
to Northampton where they telephoned the
owners of the barn in which Sabrina was
hidden. A search was made and everything was
found in good shape. They then returned to
Amherst.
In the meantime, the Odd Classmen, having
failed in their attempt to trace calls from Am-
herst, tried to find out if any calls could be dis-
covered in Northampton. They got in touch
with the manager of the Telephone Company
but this official proved a faithful ally of the Even
H. F. JOHNSON
1918 Guardian
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 75
Classmen, for he steadfastly refused to give any
information whatsoever about Johnson's call.
Thus, the attempt to trace the Sabrina, which
had appeared the previous day, failed.
Considerable doubt reigned in Amherst as
to which statue was the real Sabrina. Odd
Classmen, of course, claimed that theirs was
the original, and their opinions were voiced more
strongly because of their lack of conviction.
Even Classmen were soon reassured that their
Goddess was undisturbed and the dispute showed
no signs of settlement, so a committee was
appointed, the members of which were selected
from the classes of 1918 and 1919: Johnson,
Estey, Morehouse, for the former; Soliday,
Bowman, Southworth and Seward for the latter.
These two sides presented their cases in an
attempt to come to a settlement. The Odd
Classmen took the position that Bowman's
story was irrefutable, but that they felt that
because of the tradition it would be desirable for
them to waive their claims to Sabrina on condi-
tion that the Even Classmen agree to certain
rules to govern the conduct of Sabrina warfare
in the future, which were proposed by them.
Bowman stuck to the story through thick and
thin, and the upshot of the whole matter was
that the rules were drawn up and adopted. A
set of these rules is reprinted below.
76 SABRINA
AMHERST, MASS., April 10, 1918.
To the Editor of the Student:
SIR:
The situation that has arisen in the recent appearance
of Sabrina has involved serious danger to the permanence
of the tradition and so demands explanation and a clear-
ing up of issues.
The 1919 Committee has had in its possession for over a
year, in anticipation for an opportune moment for show-
ing its hand, a bronze statue of Sabrina, whose identity
they trace to a clouded period about ten years ago, at
which time a confusion of identity is claimed. Realizing
the dangers to the tradition of Sabrina, if a second goddess
is brought on the scene, a conference of the 1918 and 1919
Committees was called, the outcome of which was as
follows :
The Odd Classmen are willing to withdraw the claims
of their statue, so that only one may still be in the field
of endeavor, and to leave the guardianship of the tradi-
tion in the hands of the Even Classmen.
It was agreed, for the furthering of a more lively inter-
est than has been apparent for some years, that the follow-
ing conditions govern the contest:
1. That the statue be produced before the college body
at least once a year, and that during the last twelve weeks
of the college year. It is understood that in the years of
the Sabrina Banquets the appearance may be in either
the first or the last twelve weeks of the college year.
2. That artificial guards such as safety deposit vaults,
storage in the hands of express or railroad companies, or
like methods of taking the guardianship out of the hands
of the committee, and so making it an offense against the
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 77
law to attempt securing the statue, be considered as
against the rules of the contest.
3. That in the event of private houses, or other private
buildings or property, being used as storage places, the
committee in charge of the statue assumes sole and com-
plete responsibility for the charge of burglary.
It is agreed by both parties that the introduction of
statues other than the Sabrina now held by the Even
Classmen be barred.
The joint committee wishes it emphatically pointed
out that on the basis of the foregoing statements it is
obviously advisable that wagers be declared off.
(Signed)
HAROLD F. JOHNSON '18,
J. P. ESTEY '18,
E. W. MOREHOUSE '18,
THEODORE SOUTHWORTH '19,
DAVID S. SOLIDAY '19,
HALVOR R. SEWARD '19,
MORRIS L. BOWMAN '19.
At a meeting of the Sabrina and the non-Sabrina com-
mittees held in Amherst on November 16th, 1919, the
following rules were added to the above.
1. The use of firearms in connection with any Sabrina
or non-Sabrina activities, for any purpose whatsoever,
shall be prohibited.
2. There shall be a committee known as the Sabrina
Rules Committee consisting of three members of each
of the two upper classes. The chairman of the joint
committee shall be the chairman of the Senior group and
the secretary shall be the chairman of the Junior group.
3. The committee shall have the power to revise,
correct and interpret the rules governing Sabrina and
78 SABRINA
non-Sabrina activities, to investigate supposed violations
of these rules and to take such action as they deem wise
to enforce these rules.
4. A majority of the membership of the committee
shall be necessary to legislate.
(Signed)
GEORGE D. HASKELL '20,
E. ORLOW CLARK JR., '20,
KENNETH B. Low '20,
R. S. SCHLEI^HER '21,
WALDO E. PALMER '21,
WALTER N. ZINK '21.
At the time these events took place both the
Even and Odd Classmen, as is evidenced by the
rules agreed to by 1918 and 1919, were convinced
that the two statues were closely connected at
some time and that there was some doubt as to
the identity of the original Sabrina. However,
this confusion did not take place in Buffalo as it
has since been stated by Charles Staples '96 that
so far as he knew there was only one Sabrina in
the hands of the Even Classmen at that time.
After this, college quieted down and Sabrina
was not to be the center of attraction for quite
some time to come. While the Odd Class at-
tempt to shadow Sabrina had totally failed, they
had made another great stride towards capturing
the Goddess. This was the first time since the
famous attempt of Wheelock, '11, to capture
Sabrina that the Even Class guardians had con-
NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 79
sidered themselves in a position which was at all
dangerous. In a way it was a moral victory for
the Odd Classes, for it gave them the oppor-
tunity to introduce rules which would go far
towards making the affair less one-sided. Bow-
man's statue mysteriously disappeared, never to
be seen again, in accordance with these rules, by
Odd or Even Classmen, as it was agreed that the
Sabrina in possession of the Even Classes should
be considered the Sabrina for the possession of
which the Odd Classes should fight.
NINETEEN TWENTY
ACCORDING to information furnished
by Kenneth B. Low, the 1920 guardian,
Sabrina came into the hands of that class
early in the spring of 1919. It had been imprac-
ticable to turn her over to the new guardian dur-
ing the previous Spring as would normally have
happened, for a variety of reasons. The college
was in a disorganized state; many men had left
for service in the armed forces of the country, and
among these were See, Johnson and Estey, all of
whom had been closely connected with recent
Sabrina activities. A total submersion of college
ideas to war spirit made it seem inadvisable to
plan very much with respect to Sabrina, and as a
result nothing was done about handing her
down to the succeeding class.
After the Armistice college reopened and
many men who had been absent returned to
take up their activities. By the time college
had once more resumed its customary pre-war
aspect, it was decided to turn the Goddess over
to the class of 1920. Hal Johnson, '18, who had
acted as guardian, was in the West at this time
and it devolved upon Estey to manipulate the
transfer. Paul Phillips, president of the class
of 1920, and Low were instructed early in the
80
NINETEEN TWENTY 81
Spring of 1919 to meet Estey in a certain room
of a hotel in Springfield one Sunday afternoon.
They reported there and were officially intrusted
with the care of the Goddess.
Sabrina, as has been said before, was at this
time hidden in a pile of hay in a large yellow
barn adjoining the house belonging to a friend of
Ed Morehouse, a few miles out of Westfield on the
road to Springfield. After the conference called
by Estey, the new guardians were driven in
Estey's car to the barn where the men of '20
were acquainted with the details of the hiding
place. No attempt was made to move the statue
at this time and they returned quietly to college.
It was planned to hold the banquet at which
Sabrina should be formally presented to the class
of 1920 at Worcester. This spot was chosen
because it was convenient and offered good
facilities for transporting the entire class to the
banquet at short notice. The banquet was to
be held at the Hotel Bancroft and particular
pains were taken that a safe and easy means of
entrance and exit of the statue from the room
should be provided. All necessary safeguards
were taken at the hotel. It was decided to
transport the entire class from Pratt Field to
Worcester by automobile and Stanley Ayers,
'20, was given charge of this part of the program.
This was a new and novel undertaking and in-
82 SABRINA
volved considerable planning; it was at first
thought that it might be a difficult matter to
obtain so many cars from the neighborhood
without arousing suspicion as to what was on foot.
When all the preliminary arrangements had
been made, the next step was to move the statue.
Estey furnished two cars, one a Premier which
he drove himself and in which the statue was
carried, the other a car owned by a resident of
Brattleboro. This was to be used as a follow-up
car. These cars came down from Brattleboro
by previous arrangement, and met the delegation
from Amherst; Olsen, Kilby, Card and Low, '20,
and also See, '18, who had come from Boston for
the occasion, at two o'clock in the afternoon of
the banquet, in Northampton. The cars then
proceeded to West Springfield where Sabrina
was taken out from beneath the hay-mow and
placed in Estey 's car and covered with robes.
The side curtains were put in place and the ride
for Worcester started. Avoiding crowded roads
they proceeded, and no mishaps were en-
countered, until the cavalcade reached the out-
skirts of Worcester. Here a tire blew out on the
follow-up car and a delay was inevitable. While
repairs were being made, the car with Sabrina
was hidden behind some old houses a short dis-
tance off the main road. There were still two
or three hours left before the appearance of
K. B. LOW
1920 Guardian
NINETEEN TWENTY 83
Sabrina at the banquet was scheduled, so the
cars moved slowly through the town, taking side
streets and doubling back on their trail in an
effort to kill time. After dawdling as long as
possible, the cars drew up in a dark alley in the
neighborhood of Worcester Academy, some dis-
tance from the hotel. Here the group waited
while Low proceeded on foot to the Bancroft to
see if the coast was clear and the plans working
smoothly. He discovered that all was well,
and hurried back to the cars.
After another long wait they proceeded to the
Bancroft. They drew up to a side door and
Sabrina was carried in and placed in a room ad-
joining the banquet hall to await her appearance.
Meanwhile, the class had arrived at the ap-
pointed hour and after the usual delay of such
functions, was seated at the tables. At a signal
from the toastmaster the doors were thrown
open and Sabrina was ushered into the room.
The applause and enthusiastic cheering having
subsided, Phil See presented the Goddess to the
class of 1920, and intrusted her to their ever-
lasting care. After this, the time-old custom of
kissing the fair Goddess followed. Then she was
taken out as she had come in, put back into the
automobile and taken back to her hiding place
in the barn in West Springfield by Estey and
some of the others who had brought her down.
84 SABRINA
The next appearance of Sabrina was a month
or so later and took place at the Sophomore
Smoker of the class of 1920. It had been
thought that the hiding place was known, and
accordingly it was decided to move the Goddess
to a farm house in Belchertown. Bill Cowles,
'20, had arranged to have the statue hidden here
and had seen to it that a pit was dug under the
floor of a small wagon house infrequently used.
Mrs. Cowles made a canvas slip cover for the
Goddess which was kept in readiness for her
arrival. It was planned to remove the statue
to this hiding place immediately after the appear-
ance at the Smoker.
To bring Sabrina through town, a Packard was
hired in Springfield from its owner. Cliff Nash,
'20, also offered to help the project with his own
car. It was decided to have Cowles, Wood and
DeKlyn, '20, remove Sabrina from the West
Springfield barn in the Packard. These men
were to arrive at an appointed time on the even-
ing of the Smoker just beyond the underpass at
the foot of College Street. Here they were to
be met by four men in Nash's car, including
besides Nash, Olsen, Anthony and Wilbar '20.
Low, the guardian, was not to meet the statue
at the underpass, for he was scheduled to appear
in the College Quartet to sing at the Smoker.
Thinking that his unexplained absence from the
NINETEEN TWENTY 85
quartet would arouse suspicion he decided to go
through with his part in the program and join
the party later. Accordingly, that afternoon the
Packard set out, having been met by Cowles,
Wood and DeKlyn, who had slipped away from
college unobserved, and they went to the
barn in West Springfield where they secured
the statue. They proceeded slowly towards
Amherst.
Meanwhile, things began to happen thick
and fast, which almost culminated in the sur-
render of the plan to bring the statue through.
Before the college body assembled at the Smoker,
several non-Sabrina men approached Low.
Among these were Plimpton, President of the
class of 1921, who inquired point blank whether
Sabrina was to appear that evening. Low was
almost thrown off his guard by the suddenness of
this question but finally managed to throw the
Odd Classman off the track. The Smoker began
and all went well through the performance. At
the close of the selections rendered by the quartet,
Plimpton, who was presiding at the meeting,
called upon Low to lead the singing for the re-
mainder of the evening. Low knew that the cars
bearing Sabrina were by this time at the under-
pass and that the men would be waiting for him
impatiently, for his appearance was to be the sig-
nal to begin operations. Because of this, he pro-
86 SABRINA
tested his inability to lead the singing, giving as
an excuse a severe cold and a husky voice which
had already been strained. In spite of protest
and considerable suspicion, he left the building
and walked slowly to the underpass where he
joined the waiting party.
By this time, the driver of the Packard had
become slightly worried by the show of guns,
clubs and other weapons in the car, and the
tense atmosphere of warfare that overhung the
situation. He refused point blank to carry out
the plan, valuing his own life more than the suc-
cess of the prank of irresponsible college men.
After much persuasion he was finally induced to
go on, being reassured that the danger was slight
and that the real purpose of the heavy armament
that was carried was only a bluff. At the pre-
determined moment the cars moved forward up
College Street, the Packard in the lead, with
Nash following. They turned to the left past the
Library, and then swung to the right toward
College Hall. When Prexy's house was reached
the cars halted. A shot was fired to announce
their arrival by Tuttle, '20, who was posted at
the doorway of College Hall, and the cry "Sa-
brina!," was heard. A rush for the doors fol-
lowed, but when the crowd reached the open air
the cars slowly drove away down the Holyoke
Road gathering speed as they went. Even the
NINETEEN TWENTY 87
few people who succeeded in getting out of the
building, were only fortunate enough to see the
Goddess as she was borne away. The appear-
ance had been cut short by the activity of Odd
Classmen and the nervous tension to which the
guardian and his aides had been worked up.
The Packard speeded up and hummed down
across the Railroad Bridge with the follow-up
car close behind. At this point, a car was seen
heading across the road from the right but the
car bearing Sabrina kept on at full speed and
managed to beat the pursuing car to the main
road at the Golf Links. The second car driven
by Nash, also got in just ahead of the pursuer,
which proved to be a non-Sabrina Packard.
The Odd Classmen had guessed the plans of the
escapade correctly and had been lying low here
for just such a clash. This was probably the
wildest ride which was ever taken by three ma-
chines over the Holyoke Road. The Packard
bearing Sabrina soon drew far into the lead of
the second car, which barred pursuit of the non-
Sabrina men by blocking the road, for some time.
The Odd Classmen opened fire on Nash's car at
close range, and one shot pierced a tire. Nash,
after bumping wildly from one side of the road
to the other, thought the time had come for him
to drop out of the race, for his car was disabled,
and if he were to effectually block the pursuing
88 SABRINA
car he must travel at a high rate of speed, not
only endangering his own life, but those of the
men following. Accordingly, he slowed down
and drew off to the side of the road. The non-
Sabrina car seized this opportunity and dashed
by, speeding up on its pursuit of the Sabrina car,
which was by this time well over the Notch and
out of sight.
The Even Class Packard after descending the
opposite slope of the Notch swerved across a
bridge to a cross road which they had previously
planned to take in event of pursuit. The driver
was not familiar with this road and this fact
almost caused an upset. As it was, Cowles nar-
rowly averted disaster by quickly grasping the
wheel. The Packard then started off at a good
clip for the hiding place in Belchertown, Cowles
guiding the way as he knew the countryside well.
By taking many cross-cuts and detours the pur-
suing car was completely thrown off the trail,
and by midnight Sabrina was safely deposited in
her new under-ground home.
Nothing more was seen of the Goddess, al-
though many rumors were heard, until the day
of the Williams game in November 1919. The
men in charge of Sabrina had decided upon a
new and daring exploit by which she could be
shown to the whole college body for a consider-
able period of time. This year the Williams
NINETEEN TWENTY 89
game was played at Williamstown, and as is the
usual custom a special train was hired to convey
the student body to the game. The train left
Amherst early Saturday morning bearing some
four hundred and fifty undergraduates. The
day was fine and all were looking forward to the
game with considerable pleasure and anticipa-
tion. As the train drew near the steeps of the
Mohawk Trail, the students were quietly reading
magazines or playing bridge on improvised
tables in the train seats.
A little river runs parallel with the tracks of
the railroad for several miles near Charlemont.
Suddenly a cry "Sabrina" was heard through-
out the length of the train, and pushing to the
windows, the astonished men beheld sailing along
the road across the river a car bearing Sabrina.
The train was moving at a good pace but the
automobile kept pace with it for several miles,
now speeding along an open stretch, now dodging
behind an intervening hillock or mass of rocks,
only to appear again after a short interval. The
Even Classmen were filled with joy at the suc-
cess of the feat, and Odd Classmen gnashed their
teeth in vain, realizing that the train could not
be made to stop, and that even if it did their
chances of crossing the river in time to reach the
fleet car bearing Sabrina were very slim. After
a while the men in the train calmed down and
90 SABRINA
the statue disappeared around a bend in the
road.
The arrangements for this escapade were few
but complete. The men in charge of the show-
ing of Sabrina were DeKlyn, Cowles, Wood and
Low. Read, '20, left Amherst on a motorcycle
at four in the morning and reached the rendez-
vous by the river where it had been previously
determined that he should meet the car bearing
Sabrina. A Packard, hired in Springfield, left
Amherst at about the same time, picked up
Sabrina in Belchertown and reached the river
about seven in the morning. Here the car and
motorcycle were run in by the side of a house
near the road, where they laid in wait for the ap-
proaching train. The engineer had been sub-
sidized for the performance and it was arranged
that he should give three blasts of the whistle as
the train came around the curve that there might
be no mistake as to the identity of the train.
During the morning several cars filled with
Amherst men passed by on the road, and when
finally the special came by and blew the signal
the Packard drew out onto the road, tagging the
fast moving train for six miles. About a mile
before Charlemont was reached, the Packard
shot ahead up the steep incline. A short dis-
tance outside of this town Sabrina was removed
from the cars and hidden in a deep thicket on the
NINETEEN TWENTY 91
edge of a small stream, where she was left for a
few days. The men then proceeded to Williams-
town and the game.
Just before the Packard had started to play
tag with the train, Read, who was following
on his motorcycle, had seen a carload of non-
Sabrina men speeding along in an effort to catch
the train. They were approaching rapidly and
danger was imminent. Read fell upon the plan
of pleading an accident. He stopped his motor
cycle, and halting the approaching car asked
them for a wrench to fix his machine, which was
in perfect order. After tinkering for a time and
allowing the Sabrina car to get out of danger,
he thanked the Odd Classmen, and proceeded
on his journey.
Some few days later, a suspicion arose in the
minds of the Sabrina guardian that her location
might have been traced to Charlemont, so De-
Klyn and Low decided to move her. They
obtained a Packard belonging to Whittemore
and drove to the hiding place on a pitch black,
rainy night. After a prolonged and gloomy
search they unearthed her in a completely frozen
state, and carried her back to Belchertown where
she was buried under the floor of the tool house.
Here she remained until she was exhumed to be
taken to the Boston banquet.
For purposes of presenting an impartial view
92 SABRINA
on the episodes of Sabrina which occured while
the classes of 1919 and 1920 were in college, it
has been thought advisable to reprint here the
story of Odd Class activities during this period,
written by a man who was responsible for much
of the doings and subsequent successes of non-
Sabrina men, David S. Soliday.
With the new year of 1919 came the returning
army of Amherst men to their Alma Mater.
Goat-rooms were dusted, the fraternity's final
preparation to receive its long absent brothers
were made; Pratt Dorm and old North and South
College flung open their doors at the command of
Grigg's Furniture dray to receive a bevy of
time-worn desks, chairs and other student equip-
ment; Prexy and Dean Olds consulted with the
faculty concerning the new college; College Hall
once again rang with the " cheer for Old Amherst "
and speeches of her loyal sons. Thus, fired with
new ambitions, new life, and new thoughts, the
student body resumed its college course.
But the golden glamor of that fair and roman-
tic goddess of truth and loyalty Sabrina had
not been dulled by the few months or years of
olive drab. Secret whispered conferences were
held by small groups; "whens" and "wheres"
were asked. And the class of 1919 realized more
poignantly than ever before that they had but a
few remaining months in Amherst to wrest the
NINETEEN TWENTY 93
elusive goddess from the hands of her wily
protectors.
One cold evening in February, the first meet-
ing of the year of Anti-Sabrina men was held to
discuss the best means of capturing the much-
sought goddess of the even classes. Deke Darl-
ing, president of the class of 1919, Hal Seward,
president of Student Council, 1919, Dave Soli-
day, 1919, Francis Plimpton, president of class
of 1921, and Rowell Schleicher, 1921, composed
this little group of serious thinkers and would-be
"sleuths."
But before any adequate organization could be
evolved among the ranks of the Odd Classmen,
which were somewhat thinned by War absences,
1920 held its Sabrina Banquet at Worcester.
Plans for this affair were successfully laid and
carried out with little intimation coming to the
non-Sabrina men of the nature of the project
under way before it actually took place. At-
tempts were made to trail the statue after it had
left Worcester, but these proved to be ineffectual.
Stan Woodward, '17, was called over the tele-
phone at his residence in Worcester and asked to
go to the Bancroft to see if he could find any
trace of the Goddess. Woodward proceeded at
once to the banquet, but the Goddess had gone.
As a last resort, he went to the local police head-
quarters, swore out a warrant for the arrest of the
94 SABRINA
men in charge of the statue on the charge of har-
boring property stolen from Amherst College.
A cordon of police was promptly drawn up
around the outskirts of Worcester, but by the
time the arm of the law had stretched its net,
Sabrina was gone.
Excitement was intense that night in Amherst.
Various rumors were on foot many of which were
plausible, but none of which were based on any
reliable foundation. The college had become
addicted to rumor, possibly because of its long
stay in the army, where rumors of a well-known
character are rife.
Although Odd Class attempts to shadow the
statue on this occasion were unsuccessful, plans
were made and subsequently carried out in great
detail for an elaborate system by which the cap-
ture of Sabrina might be effected. Certain
occupants of houses on each of the main roads
leading into and out of Amherst were interviewed,
and they agreed to keep a sharp lookout for any
suspicious looking vehicles which might pass
their houses, and to keep the 1919 chairman
posted in the event of any going by. In each
Fraternity two or three men of the Odd Classes
kept a watchful eye open for any useful informa-
tion, and kept various Even Classmen, who were
suspected of being connected in some way with
the guardianship and most recent movement of
NINETEEN TWENTY 95
the statue, under strict surveillance. During
baseball games, or at times when the entire col-
lege body was gathered together and it seemed
probable that an appearance might be attempted,
men with telescopes watched the surrounding
country from Chapel Tower, and wig-wagged to
other Odd Classmen on the roof of the Beta
Theta Pi House, but always their signals read,
" Nothing in Sight."
No detail was overlooked that might help the
Odd Classmen capture Sabrina. Finally, one
day, May 9, 1919, word was received about noon
that the Even Class had chosen that evening to
show Sabrina before a gathering at College Hall
where the Sophomore Smoker was to be held.
Plans were immediately laid for her capture.
Three automobiles were hired, and certain Odd
Classmen were told off to occupy each of these,
which were stationed at different points; one
back of the Psi U House, one on the road to
Northampton, and one on the Holyoke Road.
All were near telephones.
At the appointed time that evening, Sabrina
appeared before College Hall. A search light
was flashed upon her for a second and then she
disappeared in mad haste. The undergraduates
and the guests of the college who had been lis-
tening to the program at the Smoker in College
Hall, poured out on the terrace, but were only
96
SABRINA
successful in catching a fleeting glimpse of the
Goddess. Pursuit was immediately taken up.
Machines in waiting, after a slight delay, gave
chase. The Packard which had been hired in
Amherst and which was occupied by Schleicher,
Hatheway, Palmer and Zink, '21, managed to
creep up on the Even Class cars on the Holyoke
Road. As is usual in planning for a safe retreat
for the Goddess, two cars were employed.
Sabrina was being carried in a special Pack-
ard, and Nash was following in his own car.
Schleicher was seated in the back seat of the
non-Sabrina car, and as they approached Nash's
car he suddenly fired several shots which whizzed
by Hatheway's ear. One of them reached its
mark and a rear tire exploded on Nash's car
which rolled heavily into the ditch, and the
Packard tore by. The car in which Sabrina
was being carried was by this time far ahead,
and no trace of it could be found on the road.
Arriving at Holyoke, the men decided that the
Goddess might have been taken to Springfield,
and accordingly, they went there. Finding
nothing in the station or elsewhere they con-
tinued to Worcester in the hopes that it might be
the Even Class plan to hide it in the Bancroft,
and that they might arrive there in time to pre-
vent its removal to the hotel storage rooms, but
here too their efforts were unrewarded.
NINETEEN TWENTY 97
Immediately after Sabrina-had gone through,
Seward and Soliday obtained a car from North-
ampton and drove leisurely down the Holyoke
Road hoping that the Even Classmen, after hav-
ing taken a side road to allow their pursuers to
pass them, might be returning over the same
road they had previously travelled. They were
the more firmly convinced that this was the plan
of the Even Classmen for they had recently
learned of the plans formulated by 1918, one of
which was to have the Goddess appear several
times in succession the same day, and they hoped
that this idea might have taken root. However,
Sabrina was by this time far away, and nothing
of any importance was discovered on the way to
Holyoke. Arriving there, the men telephoned
Amherst. They got in touch with Schleicher
who was then in Springfield and sent him on to
Worcester as has been related above. After
making a thorough search of Holyoke and vicin-
ity they went slowly back to Amherst, sorely
disappointed.
This was the first time that Sabrina had been
followed out of town by Odd Classmen. The
pursuit was close, and the affair on the Notch,
if the story related by those who participated in
the battle can be given credence, was a fierce
encounter fraught with considerable danger.
All through that night, the Odd Classmen
98
SABRINA
waited for news of the capture of Sabrina, but
when morning came the pursuers returned with
more plans and plots and lots of ideas, but with-
out Sabrina. Brisk, Palmer and Stanford '21
appeared swathed with bandages. They, too, had
been chasing Sabrina and had come to grief at the
iron bridge which spans the Freshman River on
the Holyoke Road beyond the powerhouse. Their
driver had been at the wheel for many hours and
sleep overpowered him as they rounded a curve
at a high rate of speed. Witnesses who have
seen the spot since, declare that the shock of the
meeting of car and bridge moved the steel girders
several inches. Be this as it may, the three men
previously mentioned showed signs of some sort
of an encounter of a disagreeable nature.
Various rumors and clews were followed in the
next few weeks to discover the Goddess' hiding
place. One man reported that he had seen her
being carried into a building back of The Draper;
another that he had seen her in Deerfield; an-
other still, not connected in any way with the
college, offered for a mere $1000 to give "valu-
able information." (The Odd Classmen never
learned the value of this information, for they
did riot avail themselves of the privilege of buy-
ing it.) When Commencement time came, 1919
was graduated and Sabrina still reigned supreme
in the hands of the Even Classes.
THE BOSTON BANQUET
SABRINA remained in her hiding place in
Belchertown until the following March. All
during the summer of 1919 activity was at
a standstill, and the Goddess was not to venture
forth again until her eventful journey to the Bos-
ton Banquet. The Executive Committee of the
Boston Alumni Association in drawing up its
plans for the annual banquet, hit upon the idea of
having Sabrina appear at the function. It was
thought at this time that to show Sabrina to the
Alumni body would not only stir up great enthusi-
asm for the college among its graduates, but might
also stir up some interest on the part of the outside
world. Freeman Swett, '17, was a member of
this committee and secretary of the association.
He was given the duty of making the negotia-
tions with the undergraduates concerning the
possibility of bringing the statue down to Bos-
ton. He accordingly got into communication
with Roland A. Wood, '20, whom he knew very
well. He wrote Wood that the Alumni wanted
very much to borrow Sabrina for the occasion;
that absolute secrecy should surround the entire
affair, that no chances would be taken, and he
gave him to understand that although he was an
Odd Classman, the purpose of showing Sabrina
100
SABRINA
was to stir up enthusiasm for the college, and not
an attempt on the part of Odd Classmen to cap-
ture the Goddess. Wood replied, and advised
Swett to get in touch with Phillip See, the 1918
guardian. Wood's letter is re-produced here as
an interesting memento of subsequent events
which culminated in the capture of Sabrina for
the Odd Classmen.
Whether Swett wrote to See about this matter
is not known, but certain it is that Wood took
up the matter with Low, the guardian, and Paul
Phillips, president of the class. These men were
so surprised at the project, and as it presented a
new and novel problem with which previous
Sabrina guardians had never had to cope, they
decided they had better come on to Boston and
talk the matter over with the former guardian.
About two weeks before the date on which the
banquet was to be held, an undergraduate came
to Boston and met See. See was absolute in his
refusal to endorse the proposition. He thought
the proposed appearance to be exceedingly risky,
and the value to the college to be derived from
the publicity of its appearance altogether incom-
mensurate with the danger that would be run.
Somewhat influenced by this view, the under-
graduate told the committee with whom he had
conferred, consisting of a member of the Execu-
tive Committee and two Even Classmen for-
THE BOSTON BANQUET 101
merly prominent in Sabrina activities, that lie did
not believe that the Goddess could J>ei U^d^lbr
such a purpose. He then returned to Amherst.
The Even Class committee at college endorsed
this refusal but finally gave in to the repeated
requests of the alumni. They stated that the
matter should be viewed, not as an interclass
affair, but from the point of view of the alumni
of the entire college. The whole idea was to give
Amherst the same publicity that other colleges
had been getting in Boston in past years. They
reassured the guardian that all necessary pre-
cautions should be taken, and that while the ex-
ploit seemed daring, in reality the risk was small.
The 1920 men thought the proposition over
again and finally decided that they would sub-
merge their class interests for the larger interest
of the college as a whole, and accordingly gave
their consent to the showing of Sabrina. The
committee being reassured that the project
would go through, left the matter of getting
Sabrina to the banquet and of having her re-
moved safely, to 1914 men. McGay, '14, was
given charge of the affair, and he, accordingly,
worked out his plans. He made a thorough
inspection of the Copley Plaza, paying particu-
lar attention to the interior arrangements, and
adjoining neighborhood. There was a covered
driveway running the entire length of the hotel,
102 SABRINA
Upon which a door opened directly into the large
bali<r&6m where the banquet was to be held. It
was decided to bring the statue into the driveway
on a truck a few minutes before the time sched-
uled for her appearance, and then to carry her
into the banquet hall, show her for a brief mo-
ment, and withdraw, retreating along the same
line that they had entered.
Details were well worked out in advance. A
"Zero Hour" was determined upon at which
the statue was to appear, and all men connected
with the showing were acquainted with this
time. The seating of the Alumni at tables was
so arranged that the Even Classmen should be
grouped around the door at which the Goddess
was to appear, Odd Class tables being relegated
to far corners. Men were appointed to watch
the doors and main exits of the hotel to be sure
that no Odd Classmen left the building. It was
planned to remove the lugs in the revolving doors
so that they would be put out of commission,
temporarily. Men were also to be stationed at
the doors of the banquet hall leading to the main
corridors of the hotel, to prevent anyone leaving.
For the purpose of moving Sabrina, a large
truck belonging to R. H. Stearns and Company
was to be obtained. It was planned to ship
Sabrina to the warehouse of the Miller Piano
Company where she was to arrive during the
r<5t^.
THE BOSTON BANQUET 103
day, and be kept there until shortly before the
"Zero Hour," when she was to be taken to the
banquet, and after she had been shown, was to
be immediately returned to the Miller Piano
Company. All was now in readiness, but subse-
quent changes in plans to conform to the different
situation that the Even Classmen found on the
night of the banquet were made.
The first intimation that came to Odd Class-
men that Sabrina might be shown at the banquet
was at a Chi Phi luncheon in Boston when Phil
See read a letter to the men there assembled
written to him by Wood. This letter, which had
been written some time previously, informed See
of the proposal to show Sabrina at the Boston
Banquet, and asked him for a statement of his
opinion regarding the matter. See, having
previously refused to sanction the appearance,
was rather amused at the determination of the
undergraduates to show Sabrina, and treated the
matter as a huge joke. It was utterly beyond
his comprehension that the intentions of the
Even Classmen could be serious.
Boynton, '19, was at the luncheon and became
tremendously excited at the letter read by See.
That afternoon he telephoned Seward and re-
peated to him what See had said at the luncheon
that day. Seward, while not altogether con-
vinced that Sabrina was to be shown, because
104 SABRINA
of the openness with which See had disclosed
the matter, agreed with Boynton to get in touch
with McGregor '19, and talk the matter over.
That night, Seward saw McGregor and they
decided that the likelihood of Sabrina's really
coming was slight, but that at the same time it
would be advisable to make some plans to wel-
come the Goddess if she should put in an appear-
ance. The banquet was a large occasion, and it
did not seem wise to let even the rumor which
had come to their attention go by without mak-
ing some preparations. It so happened that
McGregor was acquainted with a detective who
had a large organization in Boston, and with
whom his father had often had business and
personal dealings. Accordingly, this man, whom
we shall here call Mr. Williams, was taken into
consultation. At the first meeting with Mr.
Williams the matter was talked over in a rather
vague and loose way, and nothing of any note
was done.
Seward shortly afterwards went to New York
to see Soliday. In going over the possibility of
an appearance of Sabrina at an alumni function
attended by both Odd and Even Classmen, they
were impressed with the honor that would come
to the Even Classes in the event of success to them
and determined to lay as complete plans as events
warranted. Later on Rowell Schleicher, '21,
THE BOSTON BANQUET 105
who had charge of non-Sabrina activities in Col-
lege, was requested to come to Boston, and
another meeting was held with Mr. Williams.
By this time, the probability of the Sabrina
proposition going through was somewhat stronger,
and a detailed plan was developed by which
to capture the statue if it appeared. The first
thing to do was to get a clear understanding and
thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of the
Hotel Copley Plaza. Accordingly, Seward and
McGregor made a complete inspection of the
building at an early date. The most prominent
feature of the layout was the covered driveway,
previously mentioned, which runs through the
entire building from Trinity Place to Dartmouth
Street. It became clear that if Sabrina was to
be shown inside the Copley that this driveway
was the logical place of entrance and retreat.
Several doors were observed leading into the ball
room, which were used for bringing in supplies,
and it was evident that these doors could easily
be opened for Sabrina.
It was determined at a subsequent meeting
with Schleicher and Mr. Williams that the best
method of capture was to attempt to take the
statue after it had made its appearance, and that
it would be unwise to try to seize it, before it
was taken into the driveway. Accordingly, they
decided to hire several cars for pursuit purposes,
106 SABRINA
and with which to block the car carrying Sabrina,
if possible. The matter of hiring and manning
the machines was left to Mr. Williams. After
going over the plans again, Schleicher went back
to Amherst where he was to report immediately
any occurrences of a suspicious nature.
In the meantime, the Executive Committee in
charge of the banquet had printed an announce-
ment of the affair. This embodied a program
of the various entertainment features that were
to be held. A large question mark appeared as
the last announcement, and this, together with
the accompanying wording, could mean nothing
to Odd Classmen but that Sabrina was to be
shown. The Odd Classmen were now firmly
convinced that the appearance was to be at-
tempted. Plans were again gone over carefully
and complete secrecy surrounded them. No one
was told of the arrangements which had been
made, nor was the Executive Committee ques-
tioned as to the probability of Sabrina's being
shown. These in brief were the complete plans
of the Odd Classmen, and as subsequent happen-
ings prove, they were well drawn up and care-
fully prepared, although some changes were found
to be necessary on the night of the banquet.
The story of the journey of Sabrina to Boston
has been prepared as here submitted by Paul
Phillips, President of the class of 1920.
THE BOSTON BANQUET 107
At the time the Even Classmen gave their
consent to bring Sabrina to the Boston Banquet,
it was just about physically impossible to get the
statue there because of the weather conditions.
One of the members of the Sabrina Committee,
Cowles, got the statue from its hiding place in
Belchertown, boxed it up and put it on a train
at Springfield for Boston. This in itself was
considerable of a task, for the statue was buried
beneath two feet of frozen earth. To quote
Phillips' report: "We felt no compunction in
sending her via express, which is contrary to our
rules, because we were not serving the interests
of the Even Classes, but those of the college. We
had already shown the Lady as the rules called
for, and we were doing this at the request
of the Alumni, as a College and as a two class
affair serving alike the interests of both Odd
and Even Classes. She was safely received at
a wayside station just out of Boston and
was received by the ' chief/ 1 and carried away
into hiding until the time of her appearance.
The chief sent the men who accompanied the
Lady back to Amherst. He wanted no case of
divided authority in Boston, and wanted the
alumni to take all the responsibility. Another
reason for this was the fact that the sight of
1 Phillips refers to McGay who was in charge of the Boston end
of the appearance as "the chief."
108 SABRINA
Even Class undergraduates in Boston at this time
would excite the suspicion of Odd Classmen, who
knew nothing of the plan."
The wayside station mentioned above was
Framingham. Later investigation has revealed
the fact that Cowles, '20 and Scott, '22, accom-
panied the statue to Framingham where they
were sent back to Amherst as Phillips states.
McGay and Miller, '14, took Sabrina in a truck
to Boston and placed her in the warehouse of the
Miller Piano Company as had been previously
planned. McGay describes this as follows: " Sa-
brina was brought to Framingham by express after
a twelve mile drive by sled on the other end, the
morning of the event. Stan Miller and I met the
two undergraduates who brought her down and
put her aboard one of Miller's trucks and took
her to the Henry Miller Piano Company on
Boylston Street. She stayed there until a few
minutes before she was shown at the banquet."
McGay supplies the information that it was
originally intended to have Sabrina carried into
the banquet by officers of the Boston Alumni
Association, of which officers seven were Odd
Classmen. The fact that this plan was not carried
out, offers convincing proof that the Odd Classmen
who captured Sabrina were not " tipped off" by
any of the Executive Committee, or in any way
aided in their attempts.
THE BOSTON BANQUET 109
The forty-ninth Annual Banquet of the Boston
Alumni Association of Amherst College was held
on Wednesday Evening March 3, 1920 at the
Hotel Copley Plaza. It was a great affair. The
principle speakers were prominent alumni, among
whom were Governor Coolidge, since elected
Vice-President of the United States, President
Meiklejohn, Professor Barker, and Rush Rhees,
President of Rochester University. Judge Ed-
ward C. Estey presided. Among the six hundred
or more alumni present were men of practically
every class since the year '57, of which class
several men put in an appearance. It is inter-
esting to note that at this time prolonged ap-
plause greeted the reference to Gov. Coolidge's
presidential chances. "Tug" Wilson, president
of the Amherst Alumni Association of Chicago
urged the Boston Alumni to bring the governor
to the convention the following fall and make him
president, and at this suggestion the hotel re-
sounded with Amherst cheers.
While President Meiklejohn was paying trib-
ute to the lasting interest of college traditions,
the folding doors at the side of the hall suddenly
opened and a huge representation of a bottle of
Gordon's Gin was brought into the room. When
it had progressed well into the center of the group
of Even Class tables, which were placed in a
circle around the door, the effigy was torn aside
110 SABRINA
and Sabrina in all her loveliness was revealed to
the astonished gaze of the men there present.
The cheering which broke loose, and the conflict-
ing cries of Odd and Even Classes rilled the hotel,
while frantic scurrying about on the part of
Odd Classmen, and the self-congratulatory back-
slapping of Even Classmen heightened the ex-
citement. The statue was quickly withdrawn
and President Meiklejohn was allowed to con-
tinue his address, which we fear fell upon the
ears of a more inattentive audience than ever
sat in Walker Hall for a Freshman Math class.
Rumors floated about freely to the effect that
Sabrina had been captured, that Sabrina had
escaped, and that Sabrina was coming back,
when Boynton, '19, during a pause between the
speeches, announced in loud voice that Sabrina
had been taken and was in the hands of the class of
1919. This was the signal for Odd Classmen to
give vent to all the pent-up enthusiasm which had
been accumulating over a long period of twenty-
nine years. If the Copley had resounded with
"All hails" when the Goddess put in her ap-
pearance, it now fairly vibrated with the trium-
phant paeans of Odd Classmen.
It is necessary at this point to go back in the
story to the point at which Sabrina was left in
the warehouse of the Miller Piano Company.
To again quote McGay's version of the escapade :
THE COPLEY--PLAZA
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
COPLEY SQUARE
FLOOR PLAN, HOTEL COPLEY-PLAZA
THE BOSTON BANQUET 111
"It was planned to bring Sabrina into the
banquet at 9:30 P. M. There was a man at
each door of the hotel to pull the plungers out of
the revolving doors and to hold them for three
minutes after she came in. A fake car ran into
the covered alley-way on to which the banquet
hall opened. Of course, there were men watch-
ing outside for any trouble, and the driver of
the R. H. Stearns Company's truck was to be
signalled if any trouble was brewing. Not being
able to find any Odd Classmen outside, they evi-
dently thought things were O. K. and let her
come in. . . ."
Sabrina was brought to the Copley from the
Miller Piano Company's warehouse in the truck
which had been secured as planned from R. H.
Stearns and Company, a few moments before the
scheduled time of her appearance. To again
quote McGay. "I had charge of the inside and
was to stop it (Sabrina) from coming if anything
looked bad. All went well inside and Sabrina ap-
peared on time covered by a large paper bottle
advertising Gordon's Gin. She was uncovered
and a ring formed around her and she was kept
there for a minute or two, then taken out to the
truck, and the door was locked. . . ."
Here we must again retrace our steps in order
to give at this point the plans and actions of the
Odd Classmen at this occasion. When Seward
112 SABRINA
and McGregor arrived at the Copley that even-
ing, they took a final look around to see if their
plans were so laid as to assure success. The
first thing which attracted their attention on
entering the banquet hall was that the tables
had been so arranged that Odd Class interfer-
ence in the event of the statue being brought into
the banquet hall through the doors, in the way
they had anticipated, was practically impossible.
The Even Class tables were grouped closely in the
center of the room and around the door leading
into the driveway, and Odd Class tables were
in a ring further away. The table set aside for
'19 was in the corner of the room farthest from
the suspected door, and directly beneath the
speaker's table, an unusual place to put the
youngest graduating class. This arrangement
of tables practically convinced the Odd Classmen
that Sabrina was to appear, and they accordingly
completed their plans hastily. Neiley, '19,
promptly hired another automobile, and after
Seward and McGregor had gone out and talked
with the men whom Mr. Williams had sent there
in cars, as had been previously decided, they
returned to the banquet and took their places at
the tables. But before entering the banquet
hall, they looked carefully around the hotel for
means of exit in case the Goddess was brought
in. They found two ready means of leaving in
THE BOSTON BANQUET 113
a hurry from where the 1919 table was placed.
One of these was through the kitchen, and the
other a stairway that led to the second floor from
where easy access could be made to the ground
floor through the musicians gallery and upper
corridor. Thus, reassured of a line of retreat,
they decided they had better stay inside the
banquet hall to avert suspicion, and sat down
outwardly calm, but inwardly agitated.
Every half hour one of the Odd Classmen left
the building and looked up some of Mr. Williams
men outside. The machines were stationed on
both sides of the building on which the driveway
opened. One was placed in front of the hotel
as well. These machines were if possible, to
block the truck carrying Sabrina as it came out
of the driveway, and if not, to follow.
At half past nine a taxicab entered the drive-
way and remained there for a few minutes and
then disappeared. Not one of the blocking cars
moved, for they saw through the Even Class
ruse. The Sabrina guardians, convinced that
all was well, now appeared with the R. H.
Stearns covered truck carrying Sabrina. This
car entered the driveway and almost immediately
profound cheering was heard from the inside of
the building. As it came out the cars provided
by Mr. Williams moved towards it.
At this point it will aid the reader to consult
114 SABRINA
the accompanying chart of the plan of the Cop-
ley Plaza, and the plan of the streets of Boston
in that neighborhood. This plan has been drawn
to represent graphically the line of flight, pur-
suit and capture of Sabrina as it took place. It
should be borne in mind at the same time that
this had been an unusually severe Winter and
that the streets were piled high with melting
snow-drifts.
As the truck emerged from the entrance, the
car which had been secured by Neiley successfully
blocked it. The two cars collided, but serious
injury was not done to either. The truck im-
mediately backed away and its driver quickly
decided to steer around the car in his way. Ac-
cordingly, he veered to the left towards a heavy
drift of snow, and not taking regard of the con-
sequences of his act, plowed into it head fore-
most. This was a rash move for the truck soon
became stalled in the heavy drifts which came
well up over the hubs of the wheels. It was stuck
so fast that it was not removed from the drift
until next morning, although heroic attempts
were made at the time to break it loose.
In the meantime, as soon as Sabrina had ap-
peared inside the banquet hall, Seward and Mc-
Gregor rushed out of the hotel by means of the
second story exit they had previously discovered.
Boynton, by a trick of fate, had been standing
THE BOSTON BANQUET 115
near a main exit of the ball room when the statue
was ushered in, and was the first to appear on
the scene as the R. H. Stearns truck emerged
from the driveway. He got into the machine
hired by Neiley just before it was struck by the
van. Seward and McGregor came up just as the
truck stalled in the snow and Seward in a moment
of excitement grasped the statue with both hands
in an attempt to drag it from the truck, not
knowing what he would do with it if he did get
it. An Even Classman pursuaded him to desist,
asking, "Who are you?" "I am an Even Class-
man, 1918," he replied. He then went over and
sat in a Ford which had also been hired by the
Odd Classmen, and McGregor joined Boynton in
the car which had blocked Sabrina.
The Even Classmen, seeing their two cars
stuck, became rather excited and rushed madly
to and fro without taking any steps to remove
the statue from the spot. A suggestion was
made to the men in charge of Sabrina that they
put the statue in the Ford in which Seward was
sitting. Some men, it is not known to this day
whom, took Sabrina from the truck and put her
in the Ford in compliance with this suggestion.
Fords were not built to admit of the easy en-
trance of three hundred pound ladies, who are
rather obstinate in the matter of their posture,
and as a result Sabrina's toe was broken in the
116 SABRINA
mad haste with which she was piled into the
tonneau of the Ford. Kimball, and Moulton,
'14, got into the rear seat with the statue.
Seward and two of Mr. Williams' men occupied
the front seat. As the car moved off in the rear
of the Westminster Hotel, McGay hung on the
running board, but a moment later, seeing two
Even Classmen in the car with the Goddess,
dropped off, saying, "You watch Sabrina and
I'll follow in the next car."
The car moved on through the streets around
Trinity Station and swung into Clarendon Street,
down Clarendon across Boylston to Common-
wealth, where it swung to the left toward Massa-
chusetts Avenue. During this ride the Even
Classmen continually directed the driver, whom
they thought was working in their interests, to
turn to the left so that they might get back to
the warehouse of the Miller Piano Company
where Sabrina was supposed to be taken. But
the driver, who knew what he was about, re-
peatedly refused to comply with their requests,
saying that the ruts in the snow were so deep
that he could not swing the car out of them.
All this time Odd Class cars manned by Mr.
Williams' men, and several Even Class cars
followed closely in the rear.
As the car turned to the right into Massachu-
setts Avenue one of the Even Classmen whose
THE BOSTON BANQUET 117
suspicions were aroused by this time, leaned over
and pushed the driver forward, at the same time
giving the wheel a jerk to the left. The driver,
falling forward on the foot levers, stalled the
Ford, and it stood motionless in the center of
the street. A dispute arose as to what should
be done next as the other cars came up. The
Odd Classmen made all the confusion and noise
that was possible, so as not to give the Even
Classmen a chance to get off by themselves and
think clearly. They were helped in this to some
extent by the drivers as well.
As luck would have it Mr. Williams arrived on
the scene at this time. He came up to the car
in the guise of a special police officer and asked
what all the trouble was about. He was im-
mediately assured that there was no trouble at
all. Looking in the back of the car he saw the
battered statue of Sabrina. " What's that thing
in there?" he asked. "It's a statue/' replied
various men. "Who does it belong to?" asked
Williams. " It belongs to us. It belongs to us,"
said the Odd and Even Classmen in the same
voice. "Well, why not go down to the Police
Station and straighten the matter out?" said
Williams. "That's a good idea," said the Odd
Classmen, and the Even Classmen reluctantly
acceded to this proposal. The Even Classmen
at once attempted to hire the Ford to make sure
118 SABRINA
there would be no question of authority once
they were under way. The driver readily fell in
with their offer and named twenty five dollars as
his price. "Well, we'll pay that" said the Even
Classmen, but the driver, trying to make time
for the Odd Classmen put up an argument
about his hat, which had been lost. " I don't go
until I get paid for my hat" he said, "I've lost
my hat." "Well, we'll pay you for your hat,"
said the Even Classmen. "Well, I want it now,"
said the driver. Thus, he added to the general
confusion. Two Even Classmen who had been
in the rear seat with Sabrina, got out of the car
and only Kimball remained. Mr. Williams saw
to it that they remained outside, and that he and
his men took their places in the back of the car.
Seward, fearing that he might be recognized,
also left the car with Sabrina and entered the
machine in which McGregor had followed closely
behind, Boynton having stayed at the hotel.
The Ford now started out, supposedly on its
way to the Police Station to settle the matter of
the disputed possession of the Goddess, who had
all this time been resting serenely in the rear
of the car, unperturbed by all the excitement
which her presence was causing. The driver of
the car, having received his instructions in some
detail previously, now swung to the right off
Massachusetts Avenue and ran down some side
STREETS OF BOSTON
The Line of Flight
THE BOSTON BANQUET 119
streets, eventually making a complete circle of
the block. Two cars in the employ of the Odd
Classmen were waiting at the corner, and as the
calvacade approached, the car bearing Sabrina
was allowed to pass and go out on Massachusetts
Avenue toward Cambridge. The second car
containing Even Classmen was cleverly blocked.
Just as it came to the corner the Odd Class car
shot out in front of it, driving up to the curbstone
where the two cars collided gently. In the car
following were Seward and McGregor, and this
drove around the two cars jammed on the side-
walk and followed Sabrina out over the Harvard
Bridge into Cambridge. Several hundred yards
behind came a lone Ford which had been waiting
on Massachusetts Avenue for the return of the
cavalcade to the main highway, and this was
closely followed by two Even Class machines.
By zigzagging across the bridge, making "S's"
and by other feats of driving, the Ford managed
to block the roadway completely, thus prevent-
ing the machines behind, which had succeeded in
breaking away, from following Sabrina, who was
by this time out of sight and far away. The
Ford bearing Sabrina headed at a good rate for
Cambridge, in which, as has been related, were
Kimball, '14, and four of Mr. Williams men.
Arriving in Cambridge the car turned off to the
right beyond Central Square and dodged in and
120 SABRINA
out among the dark streets of that neighborhood
for some time. When convinced that pursuit
had been effectually cut off, they came to a stop.
McGregor and Seward came up in their car and
together with Mr. Williams they approached
Kimball. Kimball was finally convinced of the
utter uselessness of any attempt to resist, and
accordingly agreed with the proposal that he
return to Boston with McGregor and Seward.
This he did, and Sabrina was at once taken to the
residence of Mr. Williams as had been previously
planned.
Returning to the banquet Seward and Mc-
Gregor found the speeches well under way, and
that the function had resumed a normal aspect.
Boynton was sought out and told to make his
announcement as chronicled above, which he did.
In the meantime a telegram had been sent
to Schleicher at Amherst announcing the capture,
and he speedily spread the news about the campus
that Sabrina was for the first time in twenty-
nine years the Goddess of the Odd Classes. The
following extract from the Amherst Student for
March 4, 1920, amply describes the effect which
the magic news had upon the undergraduates.
"At exactly 10:45 last night Schleicher, '21,
in Amherst, received the following telegram from
Seward and McGregor:
"Sabrina appeared. We have her."
THE BOSTON BANQUET 121
Swiftly the news ran about the college. Groups
of Odd Classmen joined in singing the Sabrina
song in celebration. A huge bonfire was kindled
in front of the Library, and the Chapel bell was
tolled vigorously. As the rumor was spread it
was distorted, and many and wild were the
versions circulated about college in the early
hours of the morning. Chapel was turned into
a Sabrina celebration, the doxology giving way
to the Sabrina song, and the usually sedate pre-
lude swelling in a Paean of Triumph. After the
Sabrina song, the Freshman exhibited a lurid
banner on which was printed " Sabrina Day-
No Classes/' After that the Freshman de-
camped in a body followed by most of the Junior
class."
It has been thought advisable to re-print here
the account of the Boston Banquet which is
written by one of the Even Classmen who was
closely in touch with all happenings: McGay.
"The statue was shown for a minute or two
and then backed out to the truck and the door
locked from behind. We got out of the alley-
way and turned to the right to find on coming
out that every taxi was getting ready to move on.
At the first corner a big machine moved out and
blocked the way. Remember the snow was so
deep that there was only room for one car to go
down. The truck hit it and knocked it partly to
122 SABRINA
one side, but stalled its engine in so doing. I
hopped on the running board and grabbed the
steering wheel of the car ahead so it could not
start going again, and the truck started to swing
around it. It went up to the hubs with about
four feet more to go and could not be moved.
That's how near we came to getting away as
Miller's car was right behind the truck, and if they
had reached solid ground this car could have
blocked the rest. By the way, the only man out-
side of Even Classmen whom I saw during the
entire performance who might have been an Am-
herst man, was in the car that blocked the truck.
He was a little dark-haired fellow in evening dress.
When I got aboard he tried to come over from the
back seat and get me off, and I firmly but gently
put him back where he started from. You might
ask Seward who he is for my satisfaction. 1 I
started back to get some more of the gang.
Meanwhile, Sabrina was in the truck in perfect
safety with about twelve Even huskies over her.
We had not gone fifty feet when I saw her being
carried across the street to an open Ford. I
hot-footed it back but she was inside by then so
I jumped on the running board with Big Dick
Kimball and Moulton inside with the two drivers.
Bunny Shaw was right behind in a taxi, so I
dropped off and got inside his car and followed.
1 This was Nehemiah Boynton Jr. of the class of 1919.
THE BOSTON BANQUET 123
We went about ten blocks and ended up on
Massachusetts Avenue where Kimball made
them halt as they had picked up three or four
other cars by then. The four of us tried to get
Sabrina into our taxi, but she was wedged and
we could not get her out. We argued and talked
and moved around the corner trying to buy our
way out. It was finally decided that we would
go to the Police Station, and we started off, Big
Dick with Sabrina and the driver in the car.
Bunny and I following, went around the block
when we hit Massachusetts Avenue. Two cars
cornered ours while Sabrina started across
Harvard Bridge. We finally got by but she
was almost across and we lost her in the winding
streets about half way to Harvard Square.
Dick cleaned up the two detectives but they were
met by some other cars and he was shipped back
to Boston."
This account of McGay's of the happenings
around the Hotel Copley and in the streets of
Boston and Cambridge, coincides in all details
with the main account given above which was
compiled from data and memoranda which
certain Odd Classmen had preserved as souvenirs
of the occasion, as well as from the memory of
the principle characters involved in the escapade.
Thus, Sabrina changed hands for the first time
in twenty-nine years. The happenings surround-
124 SABRINA
ing the capture were as exciting as any which
had previously taken place in any adventure in
which the Goddess has been the center of attrac-
tion. At first glance it would seem that the loss
of the statue by the Even Classes was altogether
uncalled for, and yet a comprehensive knowledge
of the efforts of the Odd Classes, which extended
back to the entrance of the class of 1919 into
Amherst College, and even before that, makes
it clear that while the men who actually cap-
tured Sabrina did get certain breaks at the
time, their plans were well laid, their determina-
tion unflagging, and the success of their venture
came as a well deserved reward for the efforts of
all Odd Classmen.
Those who subsequently came in contact with
the Even Classmen who were directly in charge
of the statue had the feeling that they regarded
the Sabrina tradition as too much of a one-sided
affair. While it was always tacitly assumed that
Sabrina should be regarded as the possession of
the Odds if they were fortunate enough to cap-
ture her, several of these men seemed to have
the view that Odd Class opposition was really
nothing but a small side of the tradition; one to
add zest to the affair; and that the idea of Odd
Classmen really possessing the statue was not
included in the rules. It can only be here said
that the strong feeling of the Evens at the loss of
THE BOSTON BANQUET 125
their Goddess is the best "assurance that the
tradition will be kept up in the future.
Viewing the matter historically and tracing
the events which led up over a long period to the
capture of the Goddess, several factors seem to
be responsible. Up to and after the class of
1916 had left Amherst, the rules governing the
guardianship of Sabrina were regarded as
sacred; any deviation from the letter of the law,
and putting any other interpretation upon these
rules than that handed down by precedent was
altogether out of the question. Winthrop Smith,
'16 guardian, discloses the fact that in those
days Sabrina could not be moved or shown
without the consent of the two previous guar-
dians. This rule, as has been shown, was sub-
sequently violated, not in bad faith, but be-
cause strict adherence to these laws and conform-
ance to the spirit of the tradition gradually broke
down. Many causes seem to be responsible for
this breakdown, and one of them certainly is
the dissipating effect that the participation of
the college body in war activities had upon the
Sabrina tradition. Not only were the guardians
scattered far apart, making communication an
impossibility, but the idea back of the tradition
was weakened. The 'IS temporary guardian,
Hal Johnson, took a more idealistic view of the
real purpose of Sabrina than had any of the
126 SABRINA
former guardians. He discarded some of the
provisions which had marked the tradition in
the past, and broadly chose to view the matter
as a means of benefiting the entire college body
rather than the preservation of the loyalty of the
Even Classmen to an imaginary Goddess. Due
largely to this fact, Odd Classmen, when they
went into conference with Johnson and the other
temporary guardians, were bound to meet with
more consideration than would have been the
case in former years.
Undoubtedly, the rules did more to crystallize
the Sabrina tradition as an affair of the whole
college rather than of the Even Classes, than any
other event. The result was the determination
on the part of the class of 1920 to show Sabrina
more in the course of one year than she had ever
been shown before, even though the under-
taking involved considerable risk. Be it said
to the everlasting credit of this class, they did
give the college more thrills in the matter of
Sabrina appearances than had ever been experi-
enced before.
This feeling, that Sabrina was a college affair,
culminated in the decision to lend the statue to
the Boston Alumni. The Even Class guardians
expressly say that their consent in this matter
was caused by their desire to aid the college in
the matter of publicity. The violation of the
THE BOSTON BANQUET 127
rules which the giving of this consent constituted
was again not bad faith, nor carelessness, but
lack of knowledge that such rules existed. This
point more than anything else bears out the
assertion that Sabrina had ceased to be a closed
proposition governed by hierarchy of former
guardians, and more of a distinctly under-
graduate affair.
NINETEEN NINETEEN
EVENTS subsequent to the Boston Ban-
quet are here summarized by the men
who played the principle parts in them.
Directly after Sabrina had been captured Schlei-
cher came to Boston. Soliday also came up
from Philadelphia and the guardianship of Sa-
brina was officially given to him.
The statue was left at the home of Mr. Williams
for three days while a box was being made for it.
After this, Sabrina went to Fitchburg. She was
shipped there on a train in care of a Mr. Wallace,
a manufacturer of that city, where it remained
one day to make sure that it was not being fol-
lowed. The new guardian felt quite justified in
moving the statue by train even though in seem-
ing violation of the rules adopted while they were
in college, because of the weather conditions,
and because the class of 1920 had committed the
same violation three days previous, in shipping
the statue to Boston over the Boston and Albany.
On the following day the statue was taken by
machine to Winchendon, Massachusetts, and
secreted in the warehouse of H. B. Converse, a
toy manufacturer of that town. Here it was
kept until April 19. The Odd Classmen in
charge of Sabrina, because they were graduated
128
NINETEEN NINETEEN 129
from the college, and because they felt that the
Goddess should be turned over to the class of
1921 as soon as possible, decided to have the
Goddess put in an appearance at Amherst in
the hands of the undergraduates. Accordingly,
Monday April 19, 1920 was determined upon in
joint conference with the undergraduates as a
date upon which to show the statue. Plans were
accordingly laid; all details and arrangements at
the Amherst end being left entirely to Schleicher,
while Odd Class graduates concerned themselves
only with bringing the statue to Amherst. It
was decided to show Sabrina at Chapel exercises.
It was pretty well understood in the college that
Sabrina might appear at any time, and accord-
ingly, the element of surprise had to be relied
upon strongly in making any preparations.
The arrangements at Amherst were completed
and the necessary machines to act as pursuit
cars were hired. These machines were obtained
in Boston to avert any suspicion that might
arise if they were hired around Amherst.
All during this period Seward and McGregor
were closely shadowed in Boston by men who,
even at the distance at which they followed, were
obviously and unmistakably agents of the Ryder
Detective Agency. To entirely divert suspicion
that any undertaking connected with Sabrina
was on foot, Seward and McGregor went to
130 SABRINA
Amherst the week end before the date set for the
appearance, and fortunately, there was a dance
at the Psi U. House which they attended.
Soliday did not come to Amherst this week end,
as it was fairly well known that he might be
guardian, and it was felt that his presence in
Amherst w^ould point rather definitely to the
attempted appearance of the Goddess. To
heighten the effect Seward and McGregor re-
turned to Boston Sunday night.
Some time before, in looking for a machine
which was suitable for carrying Sabrina, McGregor
happened to mention to some friends of his, who
were then undergraduates in Harvard College,
that an appearance of the statue might be a
possibility in the near future. The affair at the
Copley had resulted in considerable publicity
for Sabrina and Amherst in and around Bos-
ton, and these two men, albeit from a college
with somewhat different ideals and tendencies,
readily became enthusiastic about the proposed
showing. Maurice Curran Jr., Harvard, '20,
offered his Mercer to McGregor for the occasion,
and his courtesy was promptly accepted. John
Ladensack Jr., and Lee Evans Jr., both of Har-
vard, also wished to go along as a body-guard.
Consent was given for it was felt that the pres-
ence of these men while Sabrina was being moved
around Boston and the vicinity would avert all
NINETEEN NINETEEN 131
suspicion as to what was going on. So these men
met Seward and McGregor at the latters house
at eight o'clock on Sunday evening and they all
set out for Winchendon in Curran's Mercer and
McGregor's Stearns. The latter started off in
a rather inauspicious fashion, as he was arrested
in Harvard Square for violating a traffic ordi-
nance. The arm of the law was dodged here,
however, or Sabrina might not have appeared
the following morning.
The plan was for the men to proceed to Win-
chendon, get the statue and go at once to
Amherst, where they were to meet Schleicher
before Chapel in front of the post-office, to make
sure that everything was in readiness. Schlei-
cher was to have two men beside himself on hand
to greet Sabrina, and one man stationed out-
side Chapel to wait for Sabrina to come up
College Street, when he was to rush into the
building and announce that Sabrina was outside
on the Holyoke Road. It was figured out
that this would take just long enough for the
car to arrive on the Holyoke Road at the foot
of Chapel Hill. While the college body came
out, Sabrina was to be lifted to view and then
taken down the Holyoke Road over the Notch,
shifted to another car to throw off possible
pursuit, and taken back to Winchendon, while
Schleicher returned to Amherst.
132 SABRINA
The men in the two cars, after their misadven-
ture in Harvard Square, moved down along the
Fitchburg Road. Disaster was nearly to over-
take them more than once before the close of
that evening, however.
A short distance outside of Concord, McGregor
was driving, when suddenly his lights went out.
He was travelling at a high rate of speed and as
his car started for the ditch McGregor tried to
stop the car in the darkness, but it caromed off
to the side of the road and ran into a fence which
borders the highway at this point. Hastily
getting out of the car, the men looked it over to
find the extent of the damage done. Fortunately,
only one mud -guard was missing, and the running
gear appeared to be in working condition. It
took some time to drag the car back on to the
road, and an even longer time to find out what
was the trouble with the lights. As it was, the
lights worked fitfully from that time on, and the
men had to drive in the dark most of the night.
Curran and Seward had been in front of McGregor
when he met with his accident, and failed to
take any note of it for some time. After they
had proceeded some ten miles up the road they
missed their pursuit car, and began to wonder
what had happened. Doubling back, their
worry increasing as they retraced their route,
they came to the spot where McGregor's car
NINETEEN NINETEEN 133
lay in the ditch and helped place it back on the
road.
The party now started on again but with their
nerves considerably on edge. Taking any ride
which has Sabrina as its destination is far from
having a calming influence upon one, and the
accident which had happened thus without warn-
ing, did a great deal to undermine the confidence
of the men and prepare them for most anything.
The cars were now running completely off
schedule, but speeded up to the best of their
ability towards Winchendon, where they arrived
at one o'clock, two hours late. They proceeded
directly to the factory of H. B. Converse, and
met the owner, who admitted them to the ware-
house where Sabrina was in hiding. The statue
was quickly unpacked and placed in McGregor's
car, and they started out on the last lap of their
journey towards Amherst just as dawn was
breaking. They picked up two cars which were
hired for the occasion in Athol.
All speed was made towards Greenfield.
Arriving here, a stop was made a short distance
out of town and Sabrina was transferred to the
Mercer. The expedition now proceeded forward
at a great pace in an effort to make up lost time,
and arriving at the Massachusetts Agricultural
College at eight o'clock, the cavalcade split.
The Mercer and McGregor's car proceeded to
134 SABRINA
the foot of College Street by the back streets of
town, past Pratt Infirmary and the Deke House,
and one car went over the Notch to await the
arrival of Sabrina after she was shown. Another
car was sent to meet Schleicher in front of the
post-office. It was indeed a wonder that the
arrival of Sabrina in town was not noticed, for
the cars kicked up clouds of dust as they sped
through town.
Schleicher reported that everything was quiet,
and then he went to the underpass of the
Central Vermont Railroad on College Street,
where he met Palmer, and Zink, '21. Sabrina
was waiting in the Mercer with Curran at the
wheel and Seward on the front seat with him.
Palmer, Zink and Schleicher got into the Mercer
and at 8:21 the car started for Chapel, closely
followed by McGregor in his Stearns, in which
were Evans and Ladensack. As they moved
slowly up College Street the top of the Mercer
was thrown back. As the car passed the Chi
Phi House, Hatheway, '21, who was stationed in
front of Chapel, recognized it by the red ribbons
which were flying from the radiator cap and
promptly rushed into Chapel and made his
stirring announcement.
The Mercer now jumped forward, turned to
the left, drove on past the Octagon and out on
the Holyoke Road. Arriving at the foot of
DAVID S. SOLIDAY
1919 Guardian
NINETEEN NINETEEN 135
College Hill it came to a stop, and Sabrina, as
she was lifted up by Palmer, Zink and Schleicher,
once again viewed her old surroundings and
the terrace at the foot of Chapel Walk where
she had rested many years ago before she
became the much disputed object of interclass
warfare.
By this time the college had emerged from
Chapel in a body and a mad rush down the hill
began. The cars remained motionless until
some of the foremost were very near, then they
moved slowly away from the disappointed Even
Classmen, picking up speed as they bowled
down the Holyoke Road. At the bridge over
the Boston & Main tracks they picked up one of
the waiting cars, which, after meeting Schleicher,
had gone to this point, and with the Mercer in the
lead sped away. At the bridge across Fresh-
man River, McGregor stopped and drew his car
up directly across the road, completely blocking
it. Fortunately, for McGregor's car, for he was
stationed at a curve in the road, no cars followed.
The element of surprise was relied on to such an
extent in planning this appearance that it was
thought unnecessary and inexpedient to take the
trouble to put Even Class cars, which were some-
what numerous, out of commission beforehand,
and the fact that no car manned by Even Class-
men came hurtling around the curve where
136 SABRINA
McGregor was waiting, goes to show how com-
pletely the Even Classmen were taken off their
guard.
The Mercer bowled over the Notch, descend-
ing on the other side. When near the foot of the
hill it stopped and Sabrina was transferred to a
Packard which had been kept in waiting here
for this purpose. Seward got into this car which
drove promptly to Winchendon, accompanied
by the other hired car which followed along from
Amherst. Curran, with Palmer, Zink and Schlei-
cher went on to Springfield to throw off pur-
suit, after which they returned to Amherst.
McGregor returned to Boston with the Harvard
men after spending most of the day in Amherst.
Sabrina proceeded on to Holyoke in the Pack-
ard, and doubled back to Hamp and on towards
Greenfield. Just outside of Northampton the
men in the Packard met Governor Coolidge, but
did not stop for obvious reasons. They then
went on to Greenfield believing that all pursuit
would be directed towards Springfield. Subse-
quent disclosures prove that this surmise was
correct. From Greenfield they proceeded in a
leisurely fashion to Winchendon where Sabrina
was again hidden away in the warehouse adjoin-
ing the toy factory, and after she was safely put
back in her box Seward drove back to Boston.
So ended the first appearance in Amherst of
NINETEEN NINETEEN 137
Sabrina in the hands of Odd Classmen for twenty-
nine years.
During the months that followed, several mem-
bers of the class of 1920, sorely disappointed at
the loss of their Goddess, made a number of
trips to Boston in attempts to obtain informa-
tion as to the whereabouts of their former God-
dess. Here they secured the services of a Detec-
tive Agency, and if rumors can be believed, they
sent these men in all directions. What informa-
tion they obtained, or of what value, is not
definitely known, but if its value is to be judged
by the amount of the charges which the Detective
Agency saw fit to levy upon certain members of
the class of 1920, it must have been of prime
importance in some respects, chiefly, it is felt, as
an object lesson in the future. It is here re-
ported that this matter was finally adjusted to
the satisfaction of all by action of a Court of
Equity which candidly declared that the service
rendered did not constitute adequate considera-
tion for the amount of the fee charged.
At this time Gibson, '19, was living with
Seward, and on one of his week end sojourns in
Amherst an incident occurred which aroused his
suspicions. Sabrina was at this time hidden, as
has been mentioned, in the factory of Mr. Con-
verse, who also owned a small inn in the town
called "Toy Town Tavern. 7 ' Gibson found a
138 SABRINA
souvenir of this tavern lying upon the desk in
one of the rooms of the Alpha Belt House which
was occupied by men of the class of 1920.
Cautiously inquiring about, his suspicions were
more fully aroused, and accordingly he com-
municated his information to Seward on his
return to Boston. It was decided that no chance
would be taken and that a possibility existed
that the hiding place might be known, and ac-
cordingly, plans were laid to remove the statue.
In consultation with Soliday it was decided to
take the statue as far away from its present
location as was conveniently possible, and it
was arranged with John Atwater, '15, to trans-
port the Goddess to Huntington, West Virginia,
where a good hiding place could be obtained at
the bottom of a deserted mine shaft.
All the necessary arrangements were made
speedily. Atwater and Soliday were to take
care of the New York end and a report was soon
received from them that all was in readiness. It
was planned to bring Sabrina from Winchendon
to New Haven where Atwater would be met,
the statue transferred to his car, and from where
he would take it to Huntington, W. Va. the same
day. On Saturday evening, June 4, Seward,
McGregor and Gibson left Brookline in McGre-
gor's car and proceeded without delay to Win-
chendon. Here they at once repaired to Mr.
NINETEEN NINETEEN 139
Converse's warehouse, and after being admitted
proceeded to remove the statue. This warehouse
was used as a storage place for toys, and was
completely filled from top to bottom with car-
tons and cases of all sorts of wooden mechanical
playthings. Mounting to the second floor of
the old building the men went to a far corner,
and after removing countless crates and boxes
found the case containing the Goddess. The
boards were unscrewed and the statue lifted out.
Mrs. Converse had taken such a keen interest
in the Sabrina story that she came down to her
husband's factory late at night to see Sabrina off.
The statue was carried down the narrow stairs by
the light of an electric torch, and placed in Mc-
Gregor's car. Then the men quietly moved off
into one of the rainiest, blackest nights that the
country had seen for some time. Some delay
had been experienced in finding Sabrina and re-
moving her from her crate, and as a result the
car was two hours or more behind scheduled time
when it left Winchendon. The condition of the
roads caused further delay as the men proceeded,
for driving was precarious, and the unusual
weight in the rear seat of the car caused it to
skid frequently.
McGregor had driven the car all the way from
Boston to Athol, and becoming somewhat weary,
Seward took the wheel. This nearly resulted in
10
140 SABRINA
a complete disaster to the entire party, for driv-
ing along the road between Greenfield and Am-
herst at a high rate of speed Seward failed to see
a curve a short distance ahead which wound up
over a narrow bridge. The car just hung on
the road due to Seward's sudden return to life,
and the party proceeded over the bridge and
onward, somewhat breathless and rather thank-
ful for the unseen and protecting hand of a
higher Power. And now, Sabrina went through
Amherst for the second time that year, although
this trip could not be considered in any way an
appearance. In fact, considerable care was taken
that it should not be mistaken for an appearance
by any Even Classmen who might be prowling
about the streets of Amherst for any reason that
evening. The car reached the confines of Am-
herst about one in the morning, and passed slowly
down South Pleasant Street, past the Common,
,and continued on down the Holyoke Road. The
line of travel was through Holyoke and Spring-
field, on to Hartford and then to New Haven.
The roads by this time had become so slippery
that it was impossible to keep up the rate of speed
which had been previously planned, and upon
which the hour scheduled as the time to meet
At water in New Haven was based. After pass-
ing through Hartford the men took the wrong
road by mistake and none of them are clear to
NINETEEN NINETEEN 141
this day exactly what highways they travelled
over in going to New Haven. Some of these
turnpikes were under construction, and the de-
tours which were thereby necessitated led through
a devious and winding country.
It had been decided to meet Atwater in New
Haven at three o'clock that morning at the Taft
Hotel. A telephone call had been attempted
from Hartford, but Atwater was not there. The
car bearing Sabrina reached the outskirts of
New Haven at six o'clock, and proceeded at once
to the Taft where Atwater was found. Robert
Davis, '19, and Theodore Cross, '15, had ac-
companied him from New York. After a short
consultation the two cars moved out of town on
the road towards New York and picking a con-
venient side road turned off the main highway
and came to a stop very near the driveway of a
large estate. It had been planned before to
effect the transfer from one car to the other
under cover of darkness, but there was nothing
to do now but to go ahead and make the best
of it. Accordingly, in broad daylight, Sabrina
was taken out of McGregor's car and placed in
Atwater's Mercer where she was covered with a
slip cover. Without losing any more time the
Mercer started out on the way to New York,
the other car following it for a short distance until
the speed which the Mercer attained made fur-
142 SABRINA
ther pursuit an impossibility. McGregor, Se-
ward and Gibson now returned to Boston along
the Shore Road, where they arrived after a long
and tedious journey. They had completed all
told, a journey of nearly four hundred miles
during a period of less than twenty-four hours.
Atwater went direct to New York and took
Sabrina, avoiding crowded streets, on to Phila-
delphia. Pausing for refreshments here at the
home of David Soliday, they went on to Hunt-
ington, West Virginia, picking up Atwater's
younger brother on the way, Davis and Cross
dropping off and returning to New York. At-
water arrived in Huntington late the following
evening where he at once took Sabrina to her new
hiding place at the bottom of a deserted mine
shaft.
While the authors of this book do not pretend
to know the complete history of Sabrina while
in the hands of Even Classes, it is felt that the
resting place in West Virginia was the farthest
spot from Amherst in which Sabrina has ever
stayed, being roughly some twelve hundred miles
from the home of the Little Yankee College.
Here, Sabrina remained until her appearance at
the 1921 banquet.
NINETEEN TWENTY ONE
AFTER Sabrina was shown on April 19 of
the Spring of 1920 she remained for
some time in West Virginia as has been
described previously. Those in charge of the statue
came to the conclusion that it would be advis-
able to move her back East to have her nearer
the college, and hold her against the time for
the banquet of the class of 1921. Accordingly,
late in October, Soliday, who was still official
guardian, communicated with the men in Boston,
and after considering the matter at some length,
they decided that the best thing to do was to
notify Atwater to ship the statue North as soon
as possible.
Atwater was at this time living in New York
and he and Soliday made plans to bring the
statue up from the South. It was decided that at
this time of the year it would be impracticable to
bring her up in a motor and that she would have
to be shipped to New York by train. Atwater
attended to the details of removing the statue
from its hiding place and of having a suitable box
made in which to ship her. Sabrina was shipped
to New York by express, in care of Robert Davis,
'19 Hills Brothers Company, 375 Washington
Street, New York City, and the box which con-
143
144 SABRINA
tained the Goddess was stamped in several
places with the stencil, " Machinery, Urgent."
Arriving in New York it was delivered to Hills
Brothers in the morning, and that afternoon
Atwater and Davis drove around to the side
entrance of Hills Brothers building in the former's
Mercer where the crate containing Sabrina was
loaded into the car. While the two men were
hauling and pushing the heavy box, Frederick
Bale, 1906, passed by. The two men were greatly
alarmed, for they feared detection, but Bale
passed by without noticing anything out of the
way.
After this narrow escape the two men set out
for New Haven. Soliday and Seward had made
arrangements for Sabrina to be taken to Provi-
dence by Atwater who was there to meet a dele-
gation of Odd Classmen from Boston, after
which the statue was to be transferred and taken
to Leominster, Massachusetts.
Leaving New York at about midnight, all
went well, and after a few hours Atwater and
Davis arrived with their precious charge in Provi-
dence. Seward and Gibson left Boston in a
machine and arrived at the Crown Hotel at
about eleven o'clock where they waited for the
men from New York. When the latter arrived
at the Crown they reported that all had gone
well, that their movements were not known or
NINETEEN TWENTY ONE 145
suspected by Even Classmen-, and that they
knew there was no pursuit as they had kept a
close watch upon the road behind them coming
up from New York. The men left Providence,
and a few miles out of town transferred the
statue from Atwater's car to the car which Se-
ward had hired in Boston for the purpose.
Davis and Atwater, after bidding farewell to the
statue, turned about and started out on their
long drive back to New York. They planned to
arrive there as soon as possible and to be in their
respective offices at the usual hour next morning,
thereby throwing off any suspicion. The men
accompanying Sabrina now started out for Bos-
ton, where they arrived in an hour and a half.
Here the statue was left for a few days at the
home of Mr. Williams, who has been previously
mentioned, while final arrangements for its new
location were being completed. After that
Sabrina was taken by motor to Leominster
where a hiding place had been prepared for her
in the warehouse of the Webster Piano Company.
A piano box had been made ready and the statue
was placed in this and stored in an out-of-the-
way corner of the factory among other similar
cases.
Plans now were laid for the 1921 Banquet.
Men from Amherst came down to Boston and
plans were perfected in consultation with the Odd
146 SABRINA
Classmen in Boston who had previously handled
the Goddess. After considering the various
factors entering into the problem it was decided
that New London was the most advantageous
point at which to have the Class Supper and
show Sabrina, for it was near the place where the
statue was then in hiding, and admitted of easily
arranging for a special train to take the student
body to the Banquet. November 29 was finally
decided upon as the date, for it was just after
the close of the Thanksgiving vacation and this
time seemed to be one when Even Classmen
might least suspect that a banquet was to be
held.
Accordingly, the manager of the hotel was
seen and a menu was prepared. A special train
was chartered over the Central Vermont to
leave Amherst at 6:30 on the night of the ban-
quet. No notice was to be given to the Odd
Classmen in college that the affair was pending
until a few hours before the train was scheduled
to leave.
It was decided that Seward, who was in
Boston, should be given charge of bringing
Sabrina to the banquet so that it would not be
necessary for any Odd Classmen to leave college
as the time of the banquet approached. It was
feared that close watch was being kept upon
certain men in the class of 1921, and this move,
SABRINA EN ROUTE
NINETEEN TWENTY ONE 147
therefore, seemed wise. At this time a new hid-
ing place was also determined upon to take the
statue to after its appearance at the banquet,
and all the arrangements of hiring cars to con-
vey the statute to New London were to be ar-
ranged from the Boston end.
Acknowledgment should here be made to the
services rendered by Mr. Walker, manager of the
Mohican Hotel, who entered into the spirit of the
sport from the moment when the intended ban-
quet was first broached. He promised absolute
secrecy and to him was left the matter of ar-
ranging a place for the statue to wait in the hotel
while the banquet was in progress before the time
appointed for the appearance of the statue.
On the morning of November 29, notification
was sent to every Odd Classmen to be at the
Central Vermont station in Amherst that even-
ing at 6:30, to say nothing to anyone about the
matter, and to attract as little attention as pos-
sible in proceeding to the station. Schleicher was
intrusted with the duty of spreading this informa-
tion, and he told a man in each delegation of '21
and '23 to see to it that the news was properly
passed. That evening the men slipped away from
their boarding houses in twos and threes and
after a secluded walk through the town arrived
at the Central Vermont station. A roll call was
quietly taken and when it was clear that all the
148 SABRINA
men who might be coming were on hand, the
train was boarded. An Odd Classman was
stationed at each doorway to make sure that no
Even Classman made his way into any coach
unseen.
At this point a humorous incident arose which
nearly prevented the Odd Classmen from seeing
their Goddess that evening. Those in charge of
the banquet decided that they would collect the
money to pay for the special on the train as it
proceeded to New London, but these plans were
somewhat upset by the announcement of a rail-
road official that the train would not move unless
full payment was made in advance. Various
wiles were used in an attempt to persuade the
conductor that his action might lead to serious
and dire results, but he remained firm in his
refusal to allow the engineer to open the throttle
until his company was paid. As this bill
amounted to something over a thousand dollars,
it appeared to be a somewhat large contract to
impose upon a few men, and to be fulfilled on
such peremptory notice. However, the class
was canvassed immediately and successfully.
Some cash was raised and the conductor was
finally persuaded to accept a check for the bal-
ance. This little matter having been satisfac-
torily attended to, the men who had been running
about on the platform while the collection was
NINETEEN TWENTY ONE 149
being taken up, now got aboard, the engineer
gave two toots of his whistle and the train was off.
Although the plans to prevent Even Classmen
from entering the train had been well worked out
in advance, they went astray somewhat during
the confusion which resulted when the con-
ductor made his somewhat arbitrary demand.
In the midst of the helter-skelter which fol-
lowed, Theodore Lemcke, '22, who had in some
way gotten wind of the intended banquet, had
come down to the Central Vermont station and
managed to slip unnoticed toward the head of
the train, where he crawled in between the tender
and the first coach, and, biding his time, man-
aged to hide himself in the coal car. From the
conversation of the conductor with the engineer
which he overheard by chance, he learned that
the destination of this special train was New
London, and as the train passed through a way-
station he dismounted from his hiding place and
made his way towards the ticket office, intending
to send a telegram to his Even Class colleagues
back in Amherst announcing the place at which
the banquet was to be held.
Unfortunately for Lemcke, some of the Odd
Classmen had also alighted from the train and
were strolling about the platform to get a breath
of air. When they noticed Lemcke they promptly
seized him, and a search revealed a piece of paper
150 SABRINA
upon which he had written, " Banquet in New
London. Will keep you posted. Signed
Lemcke." If the Even Classman's appearance
in this out-of-the-way place at this unusual time
had not been sufficient to convince the Odd
Classmen that Lemcke was bent on mischief,
the finding of this document was ample testi-
mony, and Lemcke was securely bound and put
back on the train under strong guard. It was
not reported exactly what Lemcke said at this
time, but those who were at the banquet are
under the impression that his remarks were
highly uncomplimentary to the character and
doings of certain Odd Classmen.
The train now resumed speed and arrived
in New London about ten o'clock. The men
proceeded up the streets of New London to the
hotel, The Mohican, singing loudly the song
which has awakened many a quiet town in the
depths of night with its stirring refrain, "All
Hail Sabrina Dear." Lemcke was also escorted
to the banquet, but was not allowed to sing.
The men entered the hotel in a body and pro-
ceeded at once to the banquet hall where they
waited around until the time scheduled for the
banquet to begin.
In the meantime, Seward had left Boston with
two cars which had been obtained for the pur-
pose, and Sabrina was taken from her hiding
NINETEEN TWENTY ONE 151
place at Leominster, and from there taken to
Providence. From Providence they proceeded
to New London where they arrived about half
past ten in the evening. The statue was im-
mediately taken to the Hotel Mohican and was
kept here at the rear door until word was re-
ceived from inside that all was in readiness,
when it was immediately taken into the ban-
quet hall.
Lemcke was secreted in a room of the hotel
which was securely locked, for the Odd Classmen
were not going to take any chances that the Even
Classmen might succeed in getting a clew as to
where Sabrina was to be taken after the banquet.
At the given time the men entered the banquet
hall, and just before they were seated Sabrina
was ushered into the room. The Sabrina song
was at once struck up and the men crowded
around to get a glimpse of the Goddess and to
take advantage of their first opportunity to kiss
her fair lips. After vigorous cheering for
Sabrina, the men seated themselves at the table,
and when they looked around again for their
Goddess, she was gone.
The banquet which followed was altogether in
keeping with the spirit of the occasion, and the
speeches of the evening were appropriate and
timely. R. E. Clarke, acting as toastmaster,
introduced David S. Soliday, '19, who had come
152 SABRINA
up from Philadelphia, as the man who should
be given a just share of credit for the capture of
Sabrina at the Boston Banquet the previous
Winter. Sabrina was then officially turned over
to the class of 1921 by Soliday who had been the
guardian of the Goddess for the class of 1919.
After her appearance at this Banquet Sabrina
disappeared, and those who accompanied her
have only to report that to the best of their
knowledge she was not pursued, and was safely
placed in her new hiding place.
So ends this present history of Sabrina, the
"Lady of Many Adventures." Who knows
what adventures are still in store for her?
Probably, she will soon emerge from her present
home and again smile upon her worshippers at
Amherst. In concluding, the writers of this
book find that they cannot express their feeling
about the value of the Sabrina tradition in any
better way than that in which it was presented
in an editorial in the Boston Herald soon after the
capture of Sabrina by Odd Classmen in Boston,
and accordingly, they re-print it here as a fitting
close for this work.
SABRINA
"What college, small or great, young or old, in all the land can
supply a tale that matches the hectic history of Amherst's bronze
goddess? How the Odds have schemed to take her from the posses-
sion of the Evens; how the Evens have plotted to display her in all her
glory to the entire school and yet prevent her from leaving their
NINETEEN TWENTY ONE 153
custody. Names that bulk as big in college history as those of the
redoubtable heroes of the athletic fields have been made by several
Amherst men whose ingenuity and daring have won for the Goddess a
new triumph. So curious have been the tales about her that thou-
sands of college men have supposed the whole yarn was a myth. Yet
Sabrina attended the Amherst dinner in this city on one recent even-
ing, and, after 29 years, passed out of the keeping of the classes with
even numerals into the hands of the Odds, there to remain until her
hiding place is discovered, or some clever scheme goes wrong, and, as
was the case the other evening, the promptness in seizing an oppor-
tunity when it comes, shall again bring an exchange of custodians.
She is a travelled Goddess. She has been secreted under deep
waters and in hidden chambers. The glory of a class responsible for
her safe keeping always has been to exhibit her to the classes whose
supreme ambition has been to acquire possession of her, and yet to
prevent her from falling into the hands of the "enemy." With a
river between she has been carried for miles within sight of a train-
load of students and then whirled away to her hiding place. Last
year she was hustled through the college town itself, but as pre-
liminary precaution most of the automobiles that might have been
employed for pursuit were rendered useless for the time being. Now
at a banquet where the Governor of the Commonwealth and the
president of the college were speakers she makes her appearance only
to pass from the guardianship of 1920 and 1922 into that of 1919 and
1921. But the end is not yet."
SABRINA APPEARS AGAIN
Since the foregoing history was written Sabrina has
once more appeared in Amherst, and the account of the
showing serves as a fitting close to this book.
It was originally planned to bring Sabrina before the
college body at a sing, to be held on the senior fence di-
rectly after church. Sunday, May first, was the day
chosen. Very few detailed arrangements were made, as
it was thought best to rely entirely on the element of
surprise in carrying out the venture.
Neiley, '19, offered the use of his car to the under-
graduates in charge of the affair, and agreed to meet the
men from college in Springfield at nine-thirty Sunday
morning. Meanwhile, the statue was to be brought to
Springfield. A Hudson, which belonged to a young lady,
at present in Smith College, was to be used for this pur-
pose. When all was ready the party was to go on to
Amherst, arriving there shortly after twelve o'clock.
Sabrina was to pass before the students assembled on the
Senior Fence and then to leave town by the Greenfield
Road.
However, when Sunday dawned it was raining heavily,
and the plans were changed to meet weather conditions.
Neiley and three other '19 men: Seward, McGregor
and Gibson, left Boston at five o'clock Sunday morning
and set out for Springfield. The night was dark, it
rained incessantly, and as dawn broke the wind fell, and
there seemed to be no chance of its clearing. The ride
to Worcester was cold and wet, and arriving there, the
men went to the Bancroft to dry out, get breakfast and
consider the general situation once again.
154
SABRINA APPEARS AGAIN 155
There seemed to be very little point in going further.
If the rain kept up, the appearance would be a poor affair
at best; no one would see Sabrina, and it would not be a
very creditable performance. Neiley remarked that on
such a day the Lady could be taken through town in a
wheelbarrow in perfect safety. Besides it was a bad day
to ride sixty more miles in an open car, and nobody looked
forward to it with pleasure. However, the men realized
that they were somewhat under orders, or at least they
were bound by their word to be in Springfield that morn-
ing, and there was nothing to do but to go on.
So the men set out again and arrived at their destina-
tion half an hour behind schedule time. Nobody was
there to meet them, and it looked very much as if the few
moments procrastination in Worcester would have bad
results. These were dark moments. Imagination
showed Sabrina going through Amherst in a single car,
followed by speedy vehicles filled with blood thirsty Even
Classmen, all bent on destruction. And it was beginning
to rain again.
Suddenly a Hudson appeared and when it had rolled
up alongside of Neiley's Mercer, the curtains were cau-
tiously poked aside, and the undergraduates climbed
out. Sabrina was safely tucked up in the back seat of
the car.
The sing had been called off, of course, and it was ac-
cordingly planned to show Sabrina just as church was
letting out. The Hudson went ahead, leaving orders for
Neiley and the other men to catch up with them on the
Notch, where the statue was to be transferred to the
faster and heavier car.
The Hudson was soon lost to sight, and all went well
until the Mercer arrived on the outskirts of Holyoke,
where a rumble and bumping announced that a rear tire
11
156 SABRINA
was flat. There was no time to change tires, so, drawing
up at a roadside gasoline station, enough air was pumped
into the defective tire to hold up several cars, and the
men went along, hoping that it wouldn't blow out, or at
least would last long enough for the trick to be accom-
plished.
There was no time to be lost now, and, hitting up a
good rate of speed the Mercer at last drew up abreast of
the Hudson, just beyond the top of the Notch. The top
of the Mercer was raised and Sabrina was lifted in. Then,
taking the lead, it started off towards Amherst, followed
by the Hudson.
As the cars came into the outskirts of the town they
were met by other undergraduates. In the car with
Sabrina now were Hatheway, '21, Zink, '21, Wilcox, '23
and Neiley, '19, driving. In the Hudson following were
Schleicher, '21, driving. Disston, '21, Clark, '21, Seward,
McGregor and Gibson, '19, and Coldrein, '23, followed
along in his machine.
When the two cars arrived in town, they swung to the
right by the octagon, and came to a stop near the senior
fence. The campus was deserted. Presently a solitary
freshman, an Even Classman, strolled by. He looked
long and hard at the two cars, but evidently their unusual
appearance at that hour conveyed nothing to his un-
sophisticated mind, or to his guilty conscience, for church
was still going on. After this hectic moment the cars
circled the campus, and with much tooting of horns and
shouting of directions, drew up in rear of the church.
Here the covers were removed from the statue and it
was raised up in the seat in full view. The sun was just
coming out from behind a thinning bank of clouds, and
shone over Sabrina: a radiant Goddess in a shining
chariot, much pursued, much sought after, but safely
SABRINA APPEARS AGAIN 157
watched by a jealous guard, and wifchal, aloof and smiling.
Here she remained for about ten minutes in full view
of anyone who might have come along. No one came,
and presently the doors of church opened, and the col-
lege body came streaming out. The sharp bark of a
motor broke their reverie; a few shouts brought their
wandering thoughts back from heaven to earth, and on
their astounded sight burst the Vision of Sabrina, high
above, moving slowly before them. Shouts rent the air.
"All Hail Sabrina" swelled to a chorus as the Goddess
slowly drew away from her shouting, running pursuers,
and moved slowly off down past the village common
towards the Greenfield road. Soon she was lost to sight.
But for a moment only. Turning suddenly about, the
Mercer headed straight back along the way it had come,
and with a roar of its coughing motor, dashed down the
road, past Alpha Delta and Psi U, through a lane of men
lining the road, taken completely by surprise, who made
no effort to check the rapid passage. Then she vanished
down the Holyoke road.
Thus Sabrina appeared, and thus she vanished.
Long Live Sabrina!
YC
987139
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY